Breathless
by Cleo2010
Summary: Things begin to unravel when Jim leaves his iPod behind in someone's car. Season two with some swearing.  ***Plot arc one complete***  Plot arc one: Chapters 1-15  Rated T .  Plot arc two: Chapters 16 - Ongoing...  Rated M
1. Chapter 1

**A fresh story folks. In a similiar mould to others I've written as it's set in season two but although I've prewritten several chapters I still don't know how it ends. Might be happy, might not, I'll see what feedback I get. Some warnings for some swear words but that's it so far. We begin on Saturday afternoon, keep an eye on the chapter titles so you know which day you're reading. Also, I've chosen some songs that weren't necessarily released when this was set but it's a minor detail. That's enough bossing around from me, enjoy!**

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**Chapter One: Saturday Afternoon**

It was a mild Saturday afternoon and Jim was pretending he had the faintest clue what he was doing. Dressed in his oldest pair of jeans spattered in about eight years worth of paint, grout, cement and grease from every DIY job he'd done and a cheap plain white t-shirt that he didn't mind ruining, he pulled his head from under the bonnet and smeared his grease stained hands across his cotton covered belly.

"Ok, so I think it's the alternator." He remarked to his grass-stained roommate Mark who had appeared with a can of Coke after a morning of gardening.

"Yeah?" he asked sceptically. "Point to the alternator, Jimmy."

Jim knew Mark had just as much of a clue about engines as he did so he pointed randomly at something near the battery. "There, smart ass."

"Whatever. You need a professional." They both leaned against the side of the car and took a swig of their drinks, enjoying the warmer turn in the weather.

"Yeah, I really didn't want to spend the money right now but..." he stopped speaking as he saw a familiar truck draw up in front of his house. Mark was oblivious that Jim had suddenly checked out of the conversation.

"...but you're saving up money so you can build a fighting robot? Come on man, I know you spend way less than you earn." Jim was staring at the truck. "Jim?"

No response.

Mark looked at the truck as the petite passenger inside jumped out of the cab and made her way towards them. She was dressed in jeans and a dark green sweater that showed off her hour glass figure despite almost covering all of her skin and her hair was back in a high ponytail. She had a fresh faced look about her and Mark recognised her from the barbeque. Pam. The smile on Jim's face almost made him roll his eyes but he didn't have the heart, this was always heading for disaster and his friend's heart was at the centre.

"Hey, did y'get lost?" Said Jim brightly as she approached.

"Hey, uh... no, not lost, no." She stammered and looking like she didn't quite know what to do with her arms.

"Uh, ok." Jim pulled a slight face, mocking her apparent nervousness and feeling a little unnerved himself. They didn't hangout outside the office much let alone show up unannounced on a weekend. "You remember Mark?"

"Oh yeah, hey." She remarked disinterestedly without taking her eyes off Jim.

"Hi. Um, I'm gonna finish packing up the mower." Mark made his transparent excuse and left knowing Jim would fill him in later.

Waiting until Mark was out of earshot Jim turned his attention back to his surprise guest. "So, what brings you to my door? Well... my car door." He smiled softly, trying to put Pam at ease but she could only muster a half hearted and slightly strangled chuckle.

"Any luck fixing the car?" She sounded a little more normal and could finally meet his eyes. Jim considered asking if she was ok but somehow he went along with whatever was going on. She'd tell him when she was ready.

"Not really, it's a trip to the shop I think. Thanks for the ride home yesterday, I was not looking forward to the bus, people keep trying to feed me weird stuff. Some old lady tried to feed me pigs feet the last time. I'm not kidding."

"Well I guess you are kinda skinny, motherly types wanna feed you up." She gestured at his stomach.

"I'm not skinny, I'm... lean." He retorted in mock defensiveness, patting his firm stomach. She laughed a little but the awkwardness returned like a wave and Pam was fidgeting once again.  
"Do you want a drink or to come inside?"

"Oh, uh, no, I've got like a ton of errands to run. Here..." she rummaged around in her handbag and pulled out an iPod. "You left this in my car." She thrust it towards him and abruptly turned to leave.

"Wait," he reached out for her but stopped before touching her as his hands were still dirty. She stopped and turned her face still unreadable and confusing to Jim who thought he knew her so well. "Um, thanks for coming out here, you didn't have to."

"That's ok, I know how much you love your music." She looked down at her feet before chancing a glance at Jim. He knew something was wrong but he didn't know what to do about it.

"Yeah, keeps me sane."

"I, um, listened to that track you recommended, I liked it."

"Cool, I thought you would, she does a kick ass acoustic version too." Jim wanted to talk more but Pam got her car keys out, she wasn't hanging around.

"Nice, well I gotta go." More awkwardness hung between them. "Those errands won't run themselves!" she added lamely.

"Pam, is everything alright?" Jim wasn't sure whether he should ask but went for it anyway. The flash of slight horror on her face before it was overtaken by a fake smile that belied what she said next.

"Oh, I'm fine, just got lots to do, you know, busy, busy, busy." Jim finally recognised an expression; she was getting frustrated with herself and knew she couldn't lie to save her life. "I'll see you at work on Monday!" She hurried off leaving Jim say goodbye to the back of her head and watch her speed off in Roy's truck.

Jim wandered back inside to find Mark in the kitchen cleaning up the plates from lunch.

"That was..." Jim thought for a moment before choosing his adjective. "...weird."

"What happened?"

"She returned my iPod, I left it in her car after yesterday."

"Ok, so what was weird? Did she listen to it?"

"Yeah, she said she listened to a song I recommended."

"One called 'I secretly love you'?" Mark said with a smile on his face earning himself a scowl.

"No. I can't work it out, it's not like anything happened on the ride home yesterday, just the usual banter, why would she be acting weird with me? I mean, it was really, really weird out there, like she was uncomfortable around me or something." Jim chewed on his bottom lip with sheer anxiety.

"Gimme your iPod." Mark held out his hand and Jim handed it over. "Do you have a playlist called 'Songs about Pam?'"

"No." He half snapped, remembering the dozens of times he'd made them but deleted them immediately. He was never in a healthy headspace when he made those and Mark had a way of making him feel like a fourteen-year-old boy with a love-struck crush. The truth was he was twenty-six-year-old man with a love-struck crush.

Mark idly flicked through the various menus as Jim talked.

"I mean, I have romantic, love songs on there, but I've got like five thousands tracks, I've got classical music on there too, there's nothing she could have not liked or thought was weird, no pictures or notes. Maybe she lost my high score on Klondike or something."

Jim tried to joke but he was pacing slightly as Mark continued to examine the machine in silence.

"We were good yesterday, Michael was driving her crazy but I helped when I could without, you know, chloroforming my boss, I'm sure Dwight has some somewhere. She seemed happy with that. Even the car ride home was fun; we joked around, stuck to safe topics, she was smiling when I left her. It was great, really great."

Mark wasn't listening as he had put the ear phones in but Jim didn't need him to listen, he was talking to himself mostly.

"It's probably nothing, maybe Roy upset her _again_ because he didn't wait for her yesterday even though it was only fifteen minutes or she's got some other problem, like a, you know, woman's problem." Jim was rambling. "Yeah, I'm being completely over sensitive thinking it's all about me, everything will be perfectly normal on Monday and that's that." Jim washed his hands in the sink with a flourish. "I feel much better, thanks Mark."

Mark looked up at him with a look of realisation and a shake of the head, the music still playing in his ears. "You complete and utter sappy idiot."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: The Day Before. Friday, 5ish**

Pam walked out of the office a little late after re-filing everything Michael had 'helped' her with that day in the spirit of equality in the work place. She had begun to explain that it didn't mean equality in job description but it was a lost cause. Only being fifteen minutes late out seemed like a small price to have paid for the madness. Roy had gotten a lift home from Daryll so at least she didn't have to take the bus. Not that fifteen minutes would have been a long time for Roy to wait.

As she walked to the truck she spied a familiar figure standing by his car. Jim Halpert. He'd said goodbye to her ten minutes ago after she'd turned down his offer to stay with her until she was finished. He hung up his phone and cursed, something she'd never heard him do before.

"Car trouble?" She shouted across the lot.

"Yeah." He was a little embarrassed that she'd caught him swearing. He met her half way. "Triple A said I didn't renew my membership."

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home." She didn't get to spend a lot of time with Jim alone without a potential interruption and they'd only ridden in the same car a handful of times, usually with passengers.

"I can take the bus." Pam could see the hopeful look in his eyes; it was tinged with a little desperation not to experience the legendary Scranton public transportation system.

"Don't be silly, you're not far out of the way and I've been on that bus, I want to spare you the experience." She nodded in the direction of the truck and he dutifully followed.

He folded himself into the passenger seat before fumbling for the adjuster bar to slide it backwards. His knees were practically round his ears as he continued his fruitless search.

"Sorry, I guess you're a little taller than me." She giggled at his predicament while making no attempt to help.

"Do you like to sit with your face pressed up against the windscreen?" Pam was ready to reply that she liked the cool but Jim shot backwards in his chair sending her into a fit of laughter. "Jesus, I think that gave me whiplash!"

"Well, comfy now?" Pam's tone was full of cheekiness.

"Very." He stretched his legs out and smiled. Pam felt something she had felt many times before but repressed as quickly as it arose.

They drove away in the direction of Jim's place.

"So you handled Michael very well today, 6.0 from the American judge." Jim complimented.

"Thanks, I don't know what I'd done if you hadn't saved me from doing the joint voicemail message."

"I don't know what your problem with doing an alternate word voicemail is; all the modern businesses are doing it." She loved his sardonic humour.

"Yeah, I guess when you call IBM the voicemail is someone doing a Bill Cosby impression."

"Oh, IBM have Mr. T. I pity the fool who calls IBM." Jim put on his best Mr T impression making Pam laugh heartily, throwing her head back slightly but still with her eyes on the road.

"Take a right here, it cuts out a couple of sets of lights at this time of day." Jim directed them down a residential street.

"Got plans for this weekend?"

"Well, first I gotta sort my car out and then Mark and I are going to that live music thing at Flannery's."

"Sounds far too cool for the likes of me."

"It's Scranton Pam, not exactly the throbbing pulse of new music. I completely expect it to be awful."

"Maybe, I just wish I knew as much as you about this stuff." She felt a little self conscious; her horizons had never been that broad.

"I listened to a song the other day I thought you'd like actually, cool band from Toronto."

"What's it called?"

"Uh..."

"Weird title, was their follow up Err..." she teased.

"Gimme a sec." He dug around in his messenger bag and pulled out his iPod. Pam never got the iPod she wanted but she wouldn't give up the teapot, it was far too precious. Still, she coveted Jim's classic black iPod.

"Here, Help I'm Alive by Metric, I think it kinda bridges the gap between between my taste and yours. Maybe you can listen to it on your break or lunch. Or not if I'm being a complete music pushing bore." He rambled.

"I'd love to listen, you have clean ears doncha?"

"Squeaky."

"Might be tinnitus."

"Oh weak Pam, laaaame joke, really!" He tried to tell her off but he couldn't mask his laugh.

"What? That was funny!" She protested.

"Tinnitus jokes have no ability to be funny, _it's tinnitus_." He smirked.

"You're just not as sophisticated as me Halpert."

"I think I'll stick to my small town ways then Pam, you're too posh for me."

"Posh? Me?"

"Yeah, with your art knowledge and intelligent humour, you're definitely smarter than me." His tone was teasing, but a little honesty slipped in there, going unacknowledged by both parties.

"Am not." She was still smiling, taking everything in jest.

"Definitely."

"So smart and sophisticated I work as a receptionist and I'm driving a ten-year-old truck."

"You're more than what you do for a living; at least that's what I tell myself." Neither of them was in their dream jobs.

"True." There was a slight silence before Jim continued.

"So what are your plans?"

"Tomorrow, errands and laundry, Sunday at Roy's parents. Nothing exciting."

"Domestic bliss, huh?"

"Pretty much."

"Guess we can't all live the exciting life Dwight has, did you know he's making beet wine this weekend followed by a paintball tournament?" Jim turned himself in his seat so he was almost leaning against the window and facing Pam, relaxing in a space which was much more Roy than Pam.

"Oh my god, did you-?" Pam asked in sparkly eyed hope, wondering how much fun paintball with Jim would be, she'd never been into the idea before.

"Tried, I'm blacklisted."

"Damn. Should've seen that coming."

"Yeah, I'll use a fake name next time."

"Rookie mistake." She chastised.

"I know, forgive me?"

"Always. Hey, we're here."

"Thanks for being my taxi; I better let you get home unless you want a drink or something."

"That's ok, I need to get dinner going, I'll see you on Monday."

Jim got out and waved goodbye before heading inside.

It wasn't a long drive home, the traffic had eased somewhat and Pam had her choice of radio station on the radio, it had turned out to be a great start to the weekend despite Michael's antics.

Once she reached home she reached to grab her handbag from the passenger foot well.

"Oh, Jim left his iPod."


	3. Chapter 3

**Because this is a short one you're getting chapters 3 and 4 uploaded today, huzzah. Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to review so far, it really makes my day.**

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**Chapter Three: Saturday Afternoon Again**

"You complete and utter sappy idiot."

"What?" Asked Jim, genuinely confused.

"Listen." He took one of the earphones out and handed it to Jim who instantly recognised the song and instantly felt exposed. He decided to play it cool.

"So, that's just one song, doesn't mean she listened to it. You just found it randomly." He was trying to convince himself more than Mark, desperately trying to work out how Mark pinpointed that song so quickly. He always included it on his Pam playlists, it was always the first he added, did he forget to delete a playlist?

"It was top of your most played playlist. The one iTunes does automatically."

"Oh." Jim gulped. That would explain it.

"Look, it still doesn't mean she listened, let's sync it up and see if the count goes up. I've just listened to it once, have you since you last synced?"

"No."

"So we'll find out exactly whether she listened, maybe she listened to a load of stuff."

"Ok, I'll go grab my laptop." Jim left a realised he felt sick to his stomach, his lunch threatening to erupt. Jim felt so foolish. It's not like the song that had probably sat at the top of his most played list for the best part of a year wasn't even slightly ambiguous, it was just everything summed up. It was a revelation when he first heard it, like it was written for him, like she was singing to him. If Pam had listened to it... Jim felt even sicker but grabbed his laptop off his desk and the cable he needed and joined Mark on the couch downstairs before he could think anymore.

Jim let Mark take over while he paced the living room thinking over the potential consequences if Pam had worked out that there was an actual reason that song was top and no others from that album. If he'd gotten hold of Pam's iPod, or whatever that piece of trash Roy bought her, he'd definitely have a peek at her most recent and most played, you get to know a person like that. He'd probably ask first though.

"Dude, you listened to this song over a hundred times?" Mark scoffed.

"Come on," Jim was feeling bad enough as it was. "I found you curled up, crying, listening Celine Dion over and over that time you broke up with-"

"You promised you'd never bring that up!"

"Yeah, well quit with the judgement!" Jim sat down and tried to get on with the task at hand. When he took a look at the number he realised it was quite a way over one-hundred, nearer to two. At least Pam couldn't see how many times he'd played it just from his iPod; she needed his computer for that. Somehow that didn't take the edge off his feeling that not only did Pam not want him in the slightest but that he'd lost his best friend too. Oh, and he had to spend eight hours a day with her five days a week with her only seven feet away. Humiliated.

"Ok, I'm plugging it in now, let's see if Pam had a snoop."

It synced automatically.

"Oh shit." Cursed Jim, slumping back into the couch.

The count went up by 22.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Friday Night**

Pam sat curled up next to Roy on the couch with his arm around her drawing her close. Usually she liked nights like this, they were watching a film rather than sports which didn't hold much, if any interest and they'd had a nice meal together. Tonight, however, as close as she was to Roy physically, her mind was resting in the hallway and the iPod that she'd placed inside her handbag for safe keeping.

She didn't know why her mind kept wandering but there was something about having something so personal of Jim's that perked her interest. It hadn't been that long ago she'd been in his bedroom and had a mini-overload of all things Jim that she didn't get to see at work. Not that she didn't feel like she didn't know Jim, but there was so much that she didn't know and, perhaps, she was curious.

There was something about Jim and his music that was extra personal. She'd catch him occasionally for a brief moment at lunch with his earphones in but he always took them out so they could chat. His expression was always different, like he wasn't in the office; he was in a different place, somewhere more familiar maybe, definitely somewhere he felt good.

Of course there was the time they listened together outside the office that night. That was... different.

Pam physically shook her head to stop that train of thought because she knew where it was headed.

"You ok, baby?" Asked Roy, a little curious about her sudden head shake.

"Yeah, stiff neck." She stretched it out and actually found it hurt a little. "Ouch."

"Want a shower? I can give you a massage." He smiled with a mischievous look in his eye.

"Mmm, that sounds nice, but I think I'm gonna have a bath, maybe I'll feel more relaxed after that." She smiled back.

Pam made her way upstairs and locked the bathroom door behind her before starting a bath. That was after she'd grabbed her handbag and brought it with her too.

She sat on the bathroom floor as her bath ran with Jim's iPod in her hand. It looked in good condition but for a few scratches on the shiny back which were also covered in Jim's fingerprints. It was black, somehow she thought Jim would have gone for classic white but black felt right too.

She activated it with a press of the centre button and the album cover for The Zutons appeared on screen. There was something satisfying about using the wheel as she span rapidly through his collection which seemed endless. She stopped abruptly when one name she recognised appeared, Metric. A quick click and the song he'd recommended was first on the list. She figured he'd wanted her to listen to it, so he wouldn't mind, maybe she'd listen to a few more, give her and Jim something to talk about.

The bath was still running loudly so she cranked up the volume. At first it wasn't to her liking at all but the singers voice won her over immediately. She closed her eyes and she listened. She felt herself get lost in the music so much more when she was alone. The guitars, drums and the beautiful voice was so different than more folksy stuff she liked, she felt like she was in Jim's space again and a little out of place.

As the song finished the next began to play. She paused and tended to her bath which had run much deeper than she'd anticipated. She tucked the iPod away and stripped down but it was too tempting to look again. It was just lists of albums and tracks but it was like looking at a secret. She promised herself that she'd let Jim dig out every embarrassing track she had, of which there were many considering her weakness for cheesy eighties music that she even hid from Roy.

She grabbed the machine and sank down into the bath, making sure the earphone cable stayed dry. It wasn't the cleverest thing to do but she wanted to do this alone. If Roy knew he'd try to make fun of Jim's tastes, there was definitely no Lynyrd Skynyrd or classic rock in Jim's line up.

Pam laid back as she flicked through the cover flow but there was too much there let alone all the compilations of everything from seventies soul to classical music. Jim and classical music? Interesting, she mused.

It wasn't enough; she needed more of an insight. She headed for the playlists. She scanned through the usual playlists she expected, one for when he went running, one called 'Barbeque' filled with energetic summery songs, another one that had chilled out tracks. Pam thought that maybe he'd put that playlist on when he had a girl over considering some of them sounded a little romantic. He had a playlist called 'After Work' full of what Pam recognised as loud, cathartic songs, he'd suggested she'd listen to a fair few of them, it was the most familiar part so far.

"Ooh, this'll be good..." She said out loud, giving the water a little swirl with her legs to remind her body of the warmth. She clicked on Jim's twenty-five most played tracks.

"In at number one!" Pam put on a cheesy DJ voice and smiled at her own silliness, she kinda wished Jim was there, well, provided she wasn't naked in the tub.

Jim's number one track sat innocuously at the top of the list. She recognised the artist which surprised her; it wasn't an obscure indie band or even a mainstream one. Corinne Bailey Rae. She didn't recognise the name of the track. Breathless. She pressed play and let her eyes fall shut.

The gentle strumming of the guitar caught her pleasantly off guard, this was definitely not what she'd have picked for Jim's favourite but it had that feeling of being taken somewhere else in an instant, that place that Jim must go when he slips in his earphones.

_Seems like everyone else has a love just for them_

Pam felt instantly sad at the first line, was Jim lonely? She told herself to just listen and stop analysing. Corinne's beautiful soulful voice surrounded her like the warm water easing her tired muscles and she relaxed.

_I don't mind, we have such a good time my best friend_

Pam smiled still with her eyes closed, imagining that she was the best friend in the song.

_But sometimes, well, I wish we could be more than friends_

_Tell me do you know? _

_Tell me do you know? _

_Oh..._

Pam's eyes shot open her finger that was resting over the pause button stopped the song. Pam's heart sped up a little before a couple of deep breaths calmed her. She berated herself for being ridiculous. It's just a song, she repeated in her head. She pressed play again, forcing herself just to relax.

_I get so breathless, when you call my name _

_I've often wondered, do you feel the same?_

_There's a chemistry, energy, a synchronicity_

_When we're all alone_

_So don't tell me_

_You can't see _

_What I'm thinking of. __  
_

Pam paused it again. It wasn't just the words that had Pam's heart racing again, it was the sensuality in Corinne Bailey Rae's voice that just put a whole new edge to the lyrics. Pam swallowed hard. He must play this for his dates, she told herself. He must have loads if it's his most played. He wouldn't spread that round at work, that he was dating enough women and seducing them to this track all the time. Yup, must be that. Jim is just a ladies man. The rationalisation felt wrong. He must just like the song; it really is beautiful she conceded.

It was then that Pam realised that what she thought was just a harmless peek at someone's record collection may actually have been a major invasion of his privacy. Resolving to put the iPod away and never speak of it again she pressed play anyway, her thumb seemingly answering to a higher power.

_I can understand that you don't want to cross the line_

_And you know I can't promise you things will turn out fine_

_But I have to be honest, I want you to be mine__  
_

Goddamn thumb, she thought, cursing at the lyrics she'd just heard and what relevance they might have. At least the best friend in the song wasn't attached, then it would be too obvious. It's not like Jim wrote the song, it's just a song that Jim likes. Pam couldn't shift the discomfort but she wouldn't let her brain think any deeper, choosing to listen a little more hoping it would dispel the weird feeling in the pit of her stomach.

_Tell me do you know? _

_Tell me do you know? _

_Oh..._

_I get so breathless, when you call my name _

_I've often wondered, do you feel the same? _

_There's a chemistry, energy, a synchronicity _

_When we're all alone_

_So don't tell me_

_You can't see  
_

_Oh!_

_Cause I've tried to do this right in your own time _

_I've been telling with my eyes, my heart's on fire_

_Why don't you realise?_

She couldn't barely stop her mind now. All it took was one lyric. _I've been telling you with my eyes. _It triggered a hundred memories that all flowed against her will. The song continued as she remembered, his green eyes clear in her mind like her was right here with her. She suddenly felt far too aware of her nudity and exceeding uncomfortable that she shouldn't even be thinking of him right now.

Pam's anxiety was interrupted as the song ended and something decidedly more Jim-like crashed into her ears. Pressing the pause button she absorbed the silence. It had to be because he liked it, it can't actually _mean_ anything? That would be madness. It's not like every song on his top list has some secret meaning, Daft Punk aren't really playing at his house, although that would be beyond awesome. Now she was rambling in her own head in an effort to stop herself facing the torrent of unanswered questions rushing to the front of her mind.

She knew she should put it away but instead she laid down, pressed the back button and listened again.

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**Finally the song is revealed, I hope it was worth it. I recommend listening to it on Youtube because the lyrics are just one part of this story, it's just a beautiful song from top to bottom. Also, bonus points for anyone who knows what I'm on about with the 'Daft Punk aren't really playing at his house' comment. **

**One more thing, my most played track is Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah after a spell when I couldn't fall asleep without listening to it. Feel free to let me know what's at the top of your most played!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Saturday Afternoon (again)**

"22 times? 22?" Jim squeaked out of his throat that had tightened in panic.

"Technically 21, but yeah, not the best news."

"She knows." Jim hung his head with his hands rubbing the hard knot of tension that had built up in his neck. "Not only does she know but she's weirded out enough to act all freaked out and not just pretend it didn't happen. That's the usual thing Pam does, ignore it and it'll never be an issue. But she knows, she _must_ know."

They sat in silence. Mark needed to say something to break the atmosphere, the silence was almost painful.

"Maybe you can slip into conversation that I'm your best friend and she'll think you're gay!" he suggested brightly.

"Not helping Mark."

"Sorry." Sensitivity had never been Mark's forte but he'd seen this day, or something similar, coming for a while. If Pam hadn't left Roy by now, she never would. He'd never seen his friend fall for a girl so hard before. "She came over though; she could have waited until Monday if she was planning on dropping you as a friend so she probably still wants that. She made that effort."

"Maybe. Some friendship if she's all jittery and watching my every look."

"Yeah, no more covert clev-" Mark abruptly closed his mouth after receiving a glare. "Yeah, ok, I'm learning."

"What am I going to do? She must know how I feel. Shit! How was I so damn stupid leaving it there?"

"She shouldn't have looked man."

"Yeah." Jim's despair altered to something much more righteous as he rose off the couch. "Yeah! What the hell? She was snooping in my stuff! _Personal_ stuff. Ok, so she could have listened to the song I was telling her about, I didn't mind when she said that outside, but this?" He pointedly wildly at the laptop. "She shouldn't have been sticking her... dammit." He couldn't sustain being angry at her. He wouldn't have been cross if she'd heard it and been happy about it. He slouched back on the couch next to Mark. "Maybe part of me wanted her to listen to it but not, not with this outcome. Kinda sucks." Kinda breaks his heart though he wouldn't say that aloud to Mark.

"I know man; wanna listen to some Celine Dion?" Jim actually laughed a little, maybe his roommate did understand. Mark slung his skinny arm around Jim's broad shoulder. "When I was young, I never needed anyone." He crooned badly as Jim rolled his eyes. "And making love was just for fun." Jim pushed him away in jest with his shoulder and they were both smiling, if just briefly in Jim's case. "You'll survive."

"What am I gonna do on Monday? Everything will be different, it's gonna be awkward as hell, it's bad enough as it is, she kept me sane." The sadness in his voice was heart breaking.

"Nah, you two are experts at ignoring the painfully obvious. I was at that barbeque, I saw her looking at you when you sat on the couch together and when you got up to save your boss from dying of terminal embarrassment, you'll be fine."

"But what was all that then, all the looks and flirting at work and at the barbeque? Just platonic? It's obvious she wasn't happy today."

"Was she acting pissed off at you?"

"No, just awkward and uncomfortable, like she _knew_. She was trying to be normal, but she sucked and she knew she was sucking."

"See how Monday goes, set the tone, be normal, she'll follow your lead. She doesn't know that you know that she listened to that song over twenty times. It gives her an out."

"True." Jim's stomach twisted at the reminder that she listened over and over, obviously reaching some conclusion that didn't involve running into his arms with declarations of undying love. Maybe she'd run over Roy in her haste to get to him. Perfect.

"See, it'll be fine, everything will go back to normal." Mark gave his friend a shoulder squeeze and a robust, manly pat on the back.

"I didn't think it would... I thought that maybe she felt something too." He sighed. The reality was slowly sinking in.

"I know man, you weren't stupid for thinking that, believe me. Maybe you can move on now." Jim knew he was far from moving on, every date he'd been on in the last three years had been little more than a distraction than a positive move forward. He couldn't imagine his life without Pam in it.

"Yeah, I guess."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Early hours of Saturday morning**

Pam couldn't sleep. Roy was laying on his side away from her, breathing heavily in a deep sleep that he always found was easy to achieve, and Pam lay facing the other way with Jim's iPod held against her belly under the covers.

She'd listened to the song over and over in the bath until Roy had made her jump out of her skin by asking if she was ok through the door. She'd ended up getting out of the cold bath with the stiff neck she started with.

It was still tormenting her. Lines of the song kept repeating, forcing meaning and significance where she didn't want it.

_But sometimes, well, I wish we could be more than friends_

_...do you feel the same?_

She didn't know what to think. She could be reading too much into the words, maybe she wasn't even his best friend, maybe it was some girl from his college days or something or maybe the song reminds him of some wonderful past relationship. Jim wouldn't want the bland receptionist; he could have anyone he wanted, why would he get breathless over me? Was there even a question to answer?

She slipped one of the earphones into her ear that was against the pillow. It was a little uncomfortable but she really didn't want to explain why she had an iPod in bed, let alone Jim's. It was stupid to even still have it; she knew the song off by heart by now.

One more listen, she promised herself, and then the damn thing goes away, just take this last time slow.

This was the first time she'd listened and didn't fight it. The first verse came and went but it was the chorus that hit hardest.

_I get so breathless, when you call my name _

_I've often wondered, do you feel the same? _

_There's a chemistry, energy, a synchronicity _

_When we're all alone_

_So don't tell me_

_You can't see_

_What I'm thinking of._

She couldn't deny that she and Jim had clicked instantly. She'd seen the disappointment on his face when she first mentioned Roy during lunch on his very first day but she never thought any more about it, they became friends. Best friends.

Chemistry? A little. Ok, maybe a little more than a little but she loves Roy, she really does, even if it's a comfortable love. After all, they'd been together for a long time and they have their routines. Energy? Yeah, she always felt the energy, but that can be friendship too she reasoned. Good friendships have their own energy. Synchronicity. Jim got her. He got her more than Roy. She liked to think she got Jim too, they definitely shared a sense of humour but they often skirted round the deeper stuff, especially since the camera's arrived.

She looked back at Roy's sleeping silhouette. She felt a pang of betrayal comparing her relationship and friendship, they shouldn't be in competition but, when she and Jim were alone in the car that night she felt the chemistry, energy and synchronicity. She did. What that meant was another thing, it didn't have to change anything she didn't want it to. Right now Pam felt in complete control of the situation, she held the important cards.

Well, she'd believe that if her heart wasn't pounding through her chest.

This was just Jim, her friend. She knew so much about him but there had always been parts of him closed off but she never pushed. Maybe that was for selfish reasons, she didn't want to think too deeply because all this would mean nothing if her first assumption was wrong: That Jim wished they were more. She needed to know and she'd never find out under the gaze of the camera. She needed Jim alone again. She'd go see him and return the iPod, maybe things would be clearer. Then again she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know, it could change everything.

As the song drew to a close a final time she shut off Jim's iPod and carefully slipped it under the bed.

She felt so lost, she needed things just to be uncomplicated for a moment and to not think about Jim and his smile and those eyes that sent her into a tailspin each time she pictured a moment they'd shared. She rolled over and pressed herself into Roy's slightly hairy back and slipped an arm around his waist. He hummed a noise of approval and Pam settled in against his back.

She would have felt right at home if one particular lyric wasn't on repeat in her mind.

_I've often wondered, do you feel the same?_


	7. Chapter 7

**As the last two chapters were shorter than normal I thought I'd upload this one too. We're nowhere near the end yet so keep reading. **

**Thanks so much for the wonderful reviews, they are just awesome and warm me right through. Considering how unbelievably cold it is here that's saying something! **

**Ok, so we're back to work...**

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**Chapter Seven: Monday Morning**

Pam stood waiting for the elevator having left Roy in the parking lot. The embarrassment of the Saturday afternoon fiasco with Jim that she'd managed to shake off for most of Sunday had returned with a vengeance and she was pretty sure her palms were sweating so much she could leave a trail of salty drips behind her.

Saturday had been an unmitigated disaster. She was expecting Jim to be acting different somehow, or maybe she'd notice things she hadn't before but it wasn't Jim acting peculiar, it was Pam who could barely concentrate or string a coherent sentence together. She'd never felt more aware of her body or... his. That swipe of grease across the middle of his t-shirt and the fact that it seemed to cling and show off what he'd been hiding under those cheap work shirts. He was... lean. She swallowed hard. It was the first time she'd really noticed him in that way. She knew he had that quirky charm, she saw how other women looked at him, but it was the first time it hit her. It wasn't an issue in her mind though, she was committed to Roy.

Thankfully she could ride in the elevator alone so no one knew she was blushing. Even her chest felt red as she couldn't stop her mind from remembering how she'd stared that Saturday. She hoped he hadn't noticed but he did ask how she was, it wasn't like it would have taken a genius to work out she was acting far from normal. She didn't just leave in a hurry, she'd practically fled. She should have called him over the weekend but she didn't trust herself not to make things worse. This morning wasn't much better either.

All she really knew was that she didn't want things to change between her and Jim. She couldn't be sure what the song really meant, if anything, but short of asking him and revealing she'd listened to something she knew he wouldn't have wanted her to, she'd just have to see how things went. How she felt about Jim was all mixed up, the definitions were different but she took comfort in the fact that he probably didn't have a clue. She hoped she could get things back to normal.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Jim wasn't at his desk yet. She'd tried to get Roy to leave earlier so she could definitely arrive before him but he refused to go at any other pace than the one he wanted. She had just about taken off her coat when she jumped out of her skin at the voice behind her.

"Whoa Pam, what kinda tea did you drink this morning?" He smiled that easy grin that made his eyes look so alive and so familiar. He took up his usual stance leaning on her desk like it was his spot and his alone. Jim.

"Apparently the breakfast blend has pepped up its act. Have a good weekend?" Her voice was much more normal than she anticipated which settled her nerves even if she had the weird feeling of not knowing what to do with her body again. He definitely didn't know she'd listened to Breathless. Maybe she could do this, forget everything she'd heard and thought about that song. He does look especially nice today though, she noticed, giving herself permission to acknowledge that he was a nice looking guy without it having to mean more.

"Yeah, the music thing wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be and I didn't have to drink it good either."

"Can't see you as a big drinker." She half teased and flashed her eyebrows, she felt good and comfortable in his presence again. This would be easy, thought Pam, nothing has changed, I can act the same as before. We're friends, we'll always be friends. Her mind was jabbering reassurance.

"So much you don't know Pam." He tossed back a couple of jelly beans and gave a grin before sauntering to desk all of which heralded the return of Pam's earlier blushes.

Now who's leaving who breathless? Pam wondered before sitting a finding the picture of her a Roy together staring at her judgementally. Maybe letting herself see him as platonically attractive wasn't a good idea. Was there so much she didn't know? Did she want to know more? Their friendship was already a little grey, she could see that now but maybe she did-.

"Earth to Pamela!" Shouted Michael way too close to her face.

"What Michael?" She snapped. She knew she shouldn't have because she was basically staring into space which wasn't part of her job description. He looked cowed. "Sorry Michael, it's this new tea I'm drinking. What can I do for you?"

"Does this shirt make me look metrosexy?"

...*...

Jim's car had been towed to the shop early that morning so he was getting a ride in with Mark. Although he appreciated Mark giving him a lift Jim was finding it hard to appreciate Mark's choice of techno first thing in the morning. When he couldn't take any more he switched it off.

"Hey man, my car, my rules!" Mark protested.

"When my eardrums are considering suicide it's time to turn the noise off."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So nervous?"

Jim regretted turning off the techno. He had a sudden passionate love for techno.

"No, just gonna play it by ear, it'll have blown over by now." He desperately hoped, if not he'd ignore it until it did.

"Set the tone, she'll follow your lead if anything you've told me is right, she won't bring it up." Jim was pretty confident she wouldn't bring it up, he'd put money on it, but it wouldn't mean it wouldn't be hanging between them like it did last Saturday.

They drew up outside the Dunder Mifflin parking lot.

"Alright if I don't drive in? It's hard to turn round in there and that tiny blonde woman always looks at me like I stole my car."

"That sounds like Angela. I'll see you tonight, thanks for the ride."

Jim climbed out of the old Toyota and headed toward work with a bunch of little knots in his stomach. When he saw Pam heading in he slowed his pace and held back. He was not ready to share an elevator with her, especially not this morning. She'd listened to something so personal to him. Repeatedly. He wasn't sure if he wasn't still a little angry for invading his privacy but it was more likely bitterness that it didn't change anything. He walked slowly until he saw her step inside and the doors close. He took the stairs.

He promised himself he'd just act normal and that everything would go back to how it was. He had to give it a chance to go back to normal. The nagging thought in his head reminded him that it wouldn't be completely the same because he had always hoped that given enough time she'd see how great they could be together, maybe she'd even fall in love with him as much as he loved her. That hope was at its dimmest, maybe even gone.

With a sigh he entered the office. Pam was hanging up her coat and looking particularly lovely this morning in what Jim recognised as a new plum coloured cardigan. It was torture, she looked the same but everything felt wrong and different. He straightened up and dove straight in with a cheerful tone. It's not like he wasn't used to feeling one thing on the inside and acting something else on the outside.

"Morning Pam." Jim's eyes went wide as she damn near leapt out of her skin. This was not a good sign. Keep it light Jim, you did just walk up behind her, make a joke.

"Whoa Pam, what kinda tea did you drink this morning?" Lame, Jim thought but he smiled and leant on the desk, like it was muscle memory taking over or some kind of autopilot.

"Apparently the breakfast blend has pepped up its act. Have a good weekend?"

She sounded normal enough but he swore she wasn't just looking at him, more like staring. At his mouth, his smile. Jim chided himself to pull himself together telling himself he was over-thinking, seeing what he wanted to see.

"Yeah, the music thing wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be and I didn't have to drink it good either." It had been a great night; it had taken his mind off everything. Music had always been his escape, especially during high school and college, though his college memories were much happier than high school.

"Can't see you as a big drinker." Whoa, Jim thought, ok, was not expecting that look. Jesus, she's sexy and she's smiling like that's normal. Ok, say something and leave, regroup. His inner monologue seemed to only take a second before he decided to play coy so he could get to his desk.

"So much you don't know Pam." He grabbed the jellybeans and chucked them in his mouth and made a bee-line for his desk.

He busied his hands setting up his computer and let his mind process that conversation. Everything they said was normal, but it felt so much more... charged. He could feel her staring at him now.

What the hell is happening?


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Monday, 5ish**

It was cooler than the weekend as Pam played with the heating on the truck.

"Put the heat on my feet, hun." Asked Roy as he peeled out of the parking lot.

"There you go. Toasty feet." She smiled. She'd had a great day. Work went smoothly as Michael was distracted with becoming a metrosexual male, Dwight was under control and things were back on track with Jim. She'd even visited his desk to chat more than usual, she'd just been happy to have fun with him and put the Breathless nonsense behind her. In fact, she was sad to see the day end.

Her mind cast back to a moment earlier in the day when she'd given Dwight his messages but told him that they were super secret from corporate and he had to work out the algorithm and decipher them. The notes were just jumbled up letters. She gave one to Jim and he pretended to work his out in a couple of minutes. After Jim achieved five successful decryptions Dwight's face was a colour that could only be described as beet purple. Sometimes she wished the fun didn't have to end at five pm.

"Hey, ain't that Halpert?" Roy nodded in the direction of the other side of the street. Her heart leapt at his unmistakable gait.

"Yeah, he said his roommate was picking him up, his car is in the shop. Pull over."

"Do we have to? It's miles out the way, I'm cold." Pam gave him a withering look and Roy duly pulled over.

"Jim!" she shouted from the window, noticing the familiar trails of thin white cable from his ears. "JIM!" she shouted louder but he was still oblivious. She grabbed a nickel from a pile of change in the coin compartment and threw it, hitting his shoulder firmly.

...*...

Jim turned he head sharply to see what the heck had hit him to find Pam's face grinning from the passenger window. "Hey." The Hounds of Love cover by The Futureheads would now be forever associated with that smile. He smiled back, but it faded a little when he saw Roy looking impatient at the steering wheel.

"What happened to your ride?"

"Oh, he got held up, figured I'd walk." Jim didn't want to get into the panic stricken phone call he'd gotten when the police had marched through Mark's office to question one of his colleagues over some fraud thing Jim didn't understand. Mark and two other guys had to stay behind to answer questions.

"Come on, get in." She flung the door open and scooted back. Jim hesitated. "Come on, I'm letting the heat out."

Jim clambered in so they were sat three abreast. It had been a weird day, Pam seemed to be paying extra attention to him and he was actually looking forward to some time to think and make sense of the day, he'd planned on catching a bus from in town. Now he was sat in close proximity with the object of his affection... and her fiancé. After today, he was actually wondering if things had changed for the better, but Roy was ever present.

"What were ya listening to?" She asked cheerfully. Jim pulled the earphones from his ears and deftly wrapped the cable around his iPod.

"The Futureheads."

"Some namby pamby guitar band I bet." Mocked Roy with a sneer. Pam rolled her eyes in sympathy with Jim and a smile which set off a little quake of happiness in his belly. He didn't care about Roy anymore.

"So, um, thanks for the lift again." Jim didn't realise until he saw Pam wince slightly that Roy didn't know about last Friday. She could have forgotten but he was desperate for any sign of hope, today had already confused him enough.

"Again?" Came the obvious question from Roy.

...*...

Pam didn't even realise she hadn't told Roy until Jim said it. It just didn't come up. She started peeling potatoes as soon as she came home, Roy never asked because he was expecting her to work late anyway. It's not like they talked that much anyway. This, however, just looked bad.

"Yeah, I gave Jim a ride home on Friday, that's when his car broke down." She tried to be as casual as she could. "Lucky I left late."

"Oh, ok." Roy was staring straight at the road, his expression unchanged but Pam knew better, he was deciding exactly how pissed off to be. Pam preferred it better when he just flew off the handle, less time to stew.

"Yeah, my car's in the shop now, should have a voicemail telling me what happened when I get home. Hopefully not too expensive." Jim was rubbing the back of his neck; Pam had noticed he'd done that a lot today. "Pam saved me from an hour on the bus with crazy people and school kids which after a day with Michael is enough to finish off a marine."

"Where here, Halpert?" Asked Roy, ignoring Jim's attempt at humour.

"Oh, take the second right. I'm on Ashbrooke."

Pam realised she could see Jim's face clearly in the passenger wing mirror without being caught staring. The vertical crease line between his eyebrows told Pam everything she needed to know about how Jim felt about sitting in this truck. It would have been ridiculous to let him walk, neither of them had done anything wrong, just Pam had been so consumed with thinking about that iPod, the very iPod he was currently turning in his hands nervously. She wanted to put her hands over his and still them.

She hadn't spent this long being able to look at Jim for a while, not face-on anyway, there were all these new angles to study, she'd never had the time or luxury of studying him. He'd changed so much since his first day, he'd grown up, become more masculine. Her mind wandered back to his music. What does he think about when he listens to that song? What if it _is_ me, she pondered. Jim gave Roy more directions but other than that no one was talking. Jim nibbled on his bottom lip and Pam felt herself sigh without thinking.

"Hmmm, I'm tired. Sucks for a Monday huh?" She yawned.

"Early night huh, babe?" Pam was sure that was more for Jim's benefit than hers but she blushed anyway, more from embarrassment than lust. This Jim obsession had to stop, she wasn't going to work out anything by staring at his face during a slightly uncomfortable car ride.

...*...

Jim was in hell. Pam was staring at him using the mirror and she just let out this little sigh which would be burned into his aural memory for eternity. Roy is right there. Right next to her. It's taking every last ounce of will power to keep from touching her because he just needs to know if she's staring so she can work out whether the song had meaning so she can ditch him forever or whether she actually likes him. He just doesn't trust his judgement anymore.

It's only a couple of minutes until he'll be home and blessedly alone, he just wish Roy wouldn't stick to the speed limits, he had him pegged as someone who drove as fast as he damn well liked.

"My street is coming up, third left. Thanks for the ride, lemme give you something for gas money." Jim fumbled for his wallet, accidently brushing the outside of his hand against Pam's hip. It was barely a touch but he muttered an apology, fearful of Roy wondering what he might be saying sorry for. The salesman was getting jumpy.

"You're not paying us Jim." Pam seemed unmoved by the touch, maybe it was his imagination but the cab of the truck was feeling smaller by the moment.

"If he wants to contribute Pam, let him, we're not a free taxi." Chided Roy.

"He's my friend. Daryll doesn't give us gas money."

Jim considered just falling out the car now, they weren't going that fast now they were in a residential street and ruining a suit would be worth it. He folded the five dollars in his hand and planned on leaving it anyway before he made his escape.

"This is me. Thanks for the ride, promise I won't need you again."

"See you tomorrow Jim." Pam waved in such a sweet way he wondered whether she really could be that oblivious of the effect she has on him. He felt bad for Pam, knowing that they'd probably continue arguing the moment the door slammed behind him.

Leaving the money on the dash board he leapt out and walked as briskly as he could to his front door. He knew Mark wouldn't be home and for that he was grateful. He needed to unwind. He grabbed a cold beer from the fridge then decided to make it two. After setting them down on the coffee table he needed his after work mix, some Foo Fighters, Breakout was in order.

Five minutes of frantic searching later he knew exactly where his iPod was.

...*...

You've got to be kidding me.

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**Like fate was going to stand for that! No, the iPod has other ideas ;)**

**I'm actually requesting specific feedback on this chapter. I wanted to switch POV's between Jim and Pam and have it read easily without having to tell you first. It was a bit of an experiment on my part so I hope it panned out and you could follow the structure. **

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's been my favourite story to write so far.  
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	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: Monday Night.**

Jim called again from the car on the way over but there was still no answer. Pam and Roy must have gone to the store before heading home. He tried to force the thought that they might be having make up sex out of his head and sped up. His brain had always been adept at conjuring up the worst case scenario when it came to his love life. He'd never had the best track record with women and falling in love with an engaged woman was his worst move yet.

He'd lost time as Mark had arrived home almost an hour late and furious. Jim had never seen him so angry. The way he flung his arms about was more than comical. One of his colleagues, Stuart, had been caught cooking the books for a haulage firm and Mark was the guy who originally landed the account so he was questioned too. After convincing Mark that he couldn't punch Stuart due to having the boxing skills of a duck Mark settled on punching him with a brick. Logic and legality aside, it seemed to sate his fury enough so that could work into conversation that he needed Mark's car so he could leave in pursuit of his errant piece of electronic equipment. Not before Mark had made fun of him first.

What must Pam be thinking? He left his iPod behind. Again.

Stopping at traffic lights he crashed his head into his palms cursing but at least the silence was helping him think.

"Why the hell didn't I put it in my bag? Shit!" he cried outloud, unconcerned whether he was heard by other drivers.

She couldn't look at it again; he had to get it back. He'd considered taking a taxi an hour ago but that would have given the wrong impression but then, didn't Pam already know he had something to hide? If she thought that song, that _unbelievably perfect_ song, was just like any other, why would she have listened to it over twenty times?

That's why she came over last Saturday, to work out whether her suspicions were correct, wasn't it? He nodded at his own deduction. He'd been so fearful that she had come over to humiliate him and that his feelings must be patently obvious that he hadn't considered that she was still working it out. It felt so obvious to him, every single word that Corinne Bailey Rae sang was everything to him, how could she _not_ have worked it out. For god sakes, he'd actually been trying to tell her with his damn eyes! He raged inside and slammed his fists against the steering wheel. Not knowing where he stood was killing him, he just needed to know what was going on in her head. He pressed on the accelerator harder.

He kept mulling it over. Now she's gone to the other extreme. He thought back to times during the day when she'd leant on his desk a little closer to him than usual, touching his hand when she gave him the notes that were part of a prank on Dwight, touching her neck with the tip of her finger when she played with her necklace distracting Jim from breathing. He stared dead ahead on the road, trying not to get too involved with that particular memory. She'd been different all day, friendly, but different.

If it had been anyone else he'd have seen all of that as a signal to make a move, the looks and the laughing. It felt like _more_. Could the lyrics have really changed how she felt or made her realise that she had feelings too? She'd certainly been giving him more-than-friendly looks and that sigh in the car was enough to make him tingle in his toes and everywhere else too. Surely that was too good to be true after all these years.

His thoughts turned more pessimistic the closer he got to Pam and Roy's home. What if Pam thought on Saturday that she must have been imagining it and this is her trying to be 'normal'. She's over-compensating because apart from that little tiff between her and Roy, they were still together and she didn't seem different or distant from him. She'd put up with his shoddy treatment for years, one song wasn't going to change that. The ring won't budge. Jim and Pam were just good friends. That's all they'll ever be.

He tried calling Pam's cell. No answer.

"Dammit Pam, answer your phone!"

His thoughts turned decidedly more desperate when he considered quitting and moving to France. He'd knew some French words, mostly about food but it couldn't be that difficult to learn. Before he'd decided whether to live in the town or countryside he found himself outside Pam and Roy's house.

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**A short one I know but there's some long ones coming up. Another update coming tomorrow.  
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	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Monday Night**

Pam stared at the iPod. The iPod stared back. Or at least Pam felt like its blank face was staring from the bench seat of the truck where Jim had just been sat. She knew he'd set it down to get money from his wallet in his pocket. He must have gotten distracted when she and Roy were arguing and he hardly waited for the truck to stop moving before he got out. He must have been really flustered to forget it again; he wouldn't do it on purpose, would he? Pam decided that it was more likely he forgot, he wanted out of the truck as soon as he could.

Pam and Roy argued a little on the way home but not as much as she was anticipating. Pam wanted to return the money, Roy wanted to keep it. She didn't need to win the argument; she'd just give Jim five dollars of her own money. Roy didn't matter right now and she was used to the double standard that her friends weren't as important as his; she just wanted to make it up to Jim.

Pam discreetly slipped the iPod into her handbag without mentioning it to Roy. He'd proven earlier that he'd only make fun of Jim and she was still annoyed at his jibe from earlier. She was getting to know him so much better by listening to his music, thinking about whether he dances to certain songs when he's alone, what does he hum when he's in the shower. Or maybe he sings. She couldn't hold back a smile at the thought of Jim singing off key each morning.

They got out of the car in silence. Pam thought about cooking a lasagne from scratch as that would give her some time away from Roy because she could quite easily let this tiff grow into a fully fledged fight. Unfortunately, the fridge and cupboards were pretty bare. She made a quick list and found Roy slumped on the sofa watching TV. He didn't even look at her when she walked in.

"We need food, I'm heading out to the store." She waved the list in his eye line, finally breaking his concentration.

"I'll go. That the list?"

"Yeah, thanks." Maybe this was his way of atoning for his behaviour. The tension dissipated from her shoulders, maybe her good day was back on track.

"Fine." He grabbed the list but his mood was still dark. "I'll see you in an hour."

Before Pam could even think about the weird look he'd given her he'd left and sped away in the truck. "Ass." She muttered under her breath.

She had all the ingredients to prepare the sauce and cooking always took her mind off things. Making her way back to the kitchen her handbag caught her eye. Roy would be gone at least half an hour minimum so she plucked out Jim's iPod without a second thought and scrolled for the band he'd mentioned earlier.

She couldn't quite remember the name until she saw it. She slipped in the headphones and pressed play. She was lost in the music as she began; there was something instantly infectious about the first track. No wonder Jim didn't hear her calling his name, the rest of the world didn't exist.

She wiggled her hips in time to the music as she cut up an onion and began frying them, each little cooking task becoming part of her dance. She turned up the volume and everything melted away except the task at hand. So much so that she didn't hear the phone ring each time it trilled. Her cell phone went unanswered too.

After forty minutes passed Pam and she'd had the sauce prepared and there was nothing else she could do until Roy got home. After listening to the final track she lay on the couch strangely satisfied. The last song was a slightly different mix of her favourite track, Hounds of Love; she hoped it was Jim's favourite too. Not that she could tell him she'd been listening to it again; he didn't even suggest she could check them out so once again she'd snuck her foot over the line. Just a little toe, she told herself. It was just music after all.

She went to hide it back in her purse but she was tempted again. She let her fingers scroll again, searching for the twenty-five most played.

It wasn't there.

She shoved it roughly in her handbag without bothering to wrap up the cabling when she felt the front door behind her swing open.

"I got everything you wanted, babe." He looked far more relaxed, the drive must have done him good. Pam's nerves, however, were in shreds and her mind racing. He deleted it. He'd deleted Breathless.

"Thanks." She said automatically.

"You ok? You look pale." Roy didn't usually notice things like that.

"I'm hungry, should've eaten more at lunch, think my blood sugar is low." She scurried back into the kitchen.

"I'm gonna go watch some Monday night football, baby." He cooed, being a little too sweet.

"You put money on it, didn't you?" That's why he offered to do the shop, he'd done this before. Sometimes she felt like his mother more than a fiancée, checking up on him.

"A little, just to make it fun."

"Fine." The chance of eating together at the table was lost and so was the chance that they might watch something they both liked. At least it would give her more time to examine Jim's iPod. The song had to be there somewhere; he couldn't have just deleted it, it seemed so important. Could it be the importance of the song that made him delete it? If he knew she'd heard it and she hadn't spoken to him about it, maybe he couldn't listen to it anymore. That was it, _he did like her_.

The feeling in her chest was making her feel claustrophobic so she threw open a window in the kitchen. She had to confirm it, he might have just deleted it from that playlist or other songs over took it; maybe it was lower down now. She wasn't quite sure how to process Jim's change of heart, it shouldn't matter, her fiancé was in the other room, she just wanted to preserve their friendship. Jim would find someone perfect for him soon. He just had a crush, right? It shouldn't matter this much to her.

She kept her hands busy by getting the rest of the meal ready. Ten minutes later the front doorbell rang.

"Can you get that, babe?" Shouted Roy from the living room.

Pam sighed and quickly washed her hands that were slightly greasy from grating cheese and dashed to the front door. She recognised the silhouette through the mottled glass instantly, tall with a mop of chestnut brown hair; he was here for the iPod. She couldn't let Roy see she had it and not told him, it would cause more trouble and she had enough to think about.

She opened the door enough to lean in the opening.

"Hey."

...*...

"Sorry, I tried to call first. You won't believe this, but I left my iPod behind again." He found it strange than rather than answer, she turned her head to see if Roy had noticed who was at the door.

"It's probably still in the truck then, lemme get my keys." Rather than leave the door open or ajar she closed it. In his face. He was relieved she hadn't found it so he didn't have to worry about her discovering a certain song was missing but she was hiding him from Roy. Could their argument have been that bad?

She appeared again and led him to the truck. She opened up the passenger's side as he went to the driver's side to start looking. He needed it back in his hands as soon as possible so he could finally relax again.

"It won't be over there, you were sitting on this side. Don't worry, I'll find it." She gave him a playful look that told him he was stepping on her toes and he pulled back. He went to walk back around to her side when he saw her dip her hand into her handbag. It was strange she'd brought it out considering she only needed the keys. He could see her doing something with her hands, by the time he got round he saw what she had in her hand. His iPod. It wasn't coming out from under the seat, but being placed there.

"Hold on, I think I've found it." She pulled it out from underneath, "Tada!"

Her face fell when she saw his expression.

"I don't get it Pam. Why did you do that?" His eyebrows furrowed and jaw tensed.

"What? Find your iPod?" She tried for innocence but surely she must know she was caught.

"I saw you Pam. It was in your bag." His words were calm but cold. He needed an explanation. A good one.

"Uhh... yeah, I uhh..."

"What Pam?" he pressed, showing he wasn't backing down, he'd let her off too many times before.

"Roy..." She faltered, the rest of the sentence failed to materialise.

"So?" he challenged. "Aren't we supposed to be friends? It's not my fault you're keeping things secret from him, why lie and hide things from me?"

"I-I- don't know, it was just easier at the time. I didn't mean to lie, I didn't even see it as lying, I wouldn't lie to you, you are my best friend." The words _best friend _stung harder than he expected, she listened to the song she must know. Twenty-one times, she had to know. She lied about that too. Being on edge had worn him out and he'd run out of patience, he just couldn't hold back anymore.

"That still doesn't explain how weird you've been the last few days Pam." He threw his hands up in exasperation as Pam stood passively, her eyes a little glassy. "I don't what's going on, first you're snooping in my stuff then acting all freaked out last Saturday and today you're extra friendly, then you're staring at me in the car!" He saw her react to that last comment, "Yeah, I noticed, I noticed a lot of things today." He was losing his temper, something he rarely lost. "I'm not a toy Pam, you can't just do what you want. You can't play with me anymore." He'd never spoken to Pam like this before but the words were coming too thick and fast to stop them now.

"It's never been like that, we're friends, I would never." She pleaded quietly, still taking a little look towards the house to check they were still alone, further riling Jim.

"Friends Pam?" he scoffed, keeping his tone quiet so they weren't overheard. "You didn't even tell him I was here now. You're just sending all these mixed signals, I don't know what you want from me anymore, I know you-" He wanted to say that he knew she'd listened to Breathless, but something stopped him, like that would be the final blow and he wasn't ready for that no matter how hard his blood was pumping.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me. It's just, I listened to your iPod and I know I had no right to and I-I guess it changed... things. I really, honestly didn't think it would, I was trying to be normal, I didn't want things to change..." She was crying a little, her arms wrapped tightly around her.

Jim could do nothing but tilt his head back up to the sky to collect himself. She knew. Neither of them said the words, but she knew how he felt about her. It obviously hadn't changed things for the better, she was still engaged, she just messed with his head more and he'd let her.

"So you were trying to have your cake and eat it too? Just disregard how I might feel and break my trust? That's what it's come to?" It felt so much easier to be angry, to finally let it flow and ease the humiliation and sadness that she didn't love him back.

"What? No! Jim, it's not like that, you have no idea how important you are to me." Her words spilled out disjointedly through held back tears.

"I'm leaving. I can't do this anymore."

"No, don't go, we need to talk. I'm sorry, it was just a little mistake." She sounded desperate as she reached and held on to his arm. He felt like caving.

"Did you listen to it tonight?"

Pam said nothing as a fresh wave of tears filled her eyes.

"Thought so."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: Monday Night**

She'd tried calling. She'd left messages on his cell and home phone pleading for him to call. She'd never seen him that angry, let alone that angry at her. He hardly raised his voice, it was all in his tone and it cut right through her. They'd had fights before, not even real fights, just disagreements or misunderstandings. The job in Maryland, the internship, the dojo, they were all small and easily resolved. They'd just gotten past it somehow.

She'd come straight in from outside and locked herself in the bathroom. Roy hadn't flinched from the TV. Now she was on the linoleum floor heaving great sobs and clutching at her cell phone, willing it to ring, willing for Jim's name to appear on the caller display.

She couldn't remember ever crying like this, the sobs seemed to spasm through her whole body and tear at her throat. She knew she was being loud but she couldn't stop. She switched on the shower so Roy wouldn't hear, he'd never understand and he was actually the last person she wanted comfort from right now. All she wanted was Jim and a chance to explain herself.

But what was her explanation? She didn't really have one. Not one that was good enough. She really couldn't explain why hearing that song affected her so much, she didn't know what to do, the more she tried to relax and not think about it the more she seemed to mess things up. All she knew was she was just happier when she was hanging out with him, that's all she was thinking, he made her happy. She needed him in her life. She didn't know how she could make things right again, she didn't know if the words existed to make this better.

The steady beat of the water hitting the bottom of the tub was doing nothing to quell the pain. She had no idea what damage she was reeking, if only she hadn't given into her curiosity this would never have happened. If only she'd handled it differently. If only.

She sobbed harder still. His last words, the hurt in his eyes, watching him walk away and she couldn't speak. She just stood and watched him leave.

...*...

Jim made it home. He wasn't sure how, he could barely remember driving, but he was inside and leaning back against the front door like he could stop the events of the last half hour following him. Mark found him, instantly registering the look of desolation on his friends face.

"You ok, man?" he asked softly.

"I think I'm ready for Celine Dion now."

Mark nodded with the softest of smiles and ushered him up stairs to change out his work clothes with the promise of a couple of beers and a night of gaming. Jim just wanted the day to be over and gratefully accepted. After changing into his most comfortable baggy clothes he slumped next to Mark on the couch.

"Here." Mark handed him a beer. "Get that in you and I'll stick on Left 4 Dead, I'll even let you be Francis."

"I know you love to be Zoey, you can't hide it." Jim tried a smile but it never really emerged. It was a bit beyond him at this point.

"Fine, I'll admit it, Zoey is lovely and surprisingly realistically proportioned for a videogame chick."

They both drank under the unspoken understanding that at least one beer should be consumed before discussing anything relating to feelings.

"I got my iPod back." Jim began, his tone factual and unemotional.

"Good, that's good."

Jim filled him in on what happened and Mark sat quietly, nodding where he should nod, agreeing when he should agree.

"...And I just walked away, I could hear her crying as I left, I just, I couldn't stay anymore, I was so angry but I still..." he sighed. "...I still just wanted to kiss her, like that might change her  
mind, like she might get it."

"You did the right thing man."

"Then why do I feel like this?" He looked Mark straight in the eye, there were no barriers up now and no disguising how he felt. If Mark had been honest, he'd never wanted to hug Jim more.

"Because doing the right thing doesn't necessarily make you feel good. Like when I broke up with Tina after she slept with that stupid, poncy chef, it hurt but it was the right thing to do." Although that was over a year ago the memory still hurt. "Still, nothing my Celine couldn't heal. And time."

"I hope it gets better, Pam is something else, I can't imagine there being someone else more perfect for me. I really, really can't."

"I know." Mark gave him a manly pat on the knee. "Come on, let's shoot us some zombies in the face and possibly their balls too. If I shout "die, Stuart, die" at any point just ignore me."

Jim agreed and got up to grab some fresh beers when the phone rang. He went to pick it up but Mark reached out and stopped him.

"Don't. It's probably you know who. Let's screen tonight." Jim nodded, he already had a voice mail on his phone before he turned it off. "It's also a matter of time before my mom finds out I spoke to the police today and decides I need to move back home so she can keep me out of trouble." He rolled his eyes at his notoriously over protective mother as the final beep to leave a message sounded.

"Jim, it's me." Came Pam's choked up voice. "If you're there can you pick up, please?" Jim just stared at the machine, his arms prone at his sides. "I'm so sorry, please call me back, I'll have my cell on all night. Call me. Bye."

Jim swallowed hard. She sounded so much more upset than he was expecting and it hurt more than he expected too.

"I can't call her now."

"You don't have to; do you want me to unplug the phone?"

"No, but I'll turn the ringer down to low."

"Anything you want."

"I want pizza."

"That I can do." Mark picked up the phone and dialled their local pizza delivery place from memory.

Jim sat with the fresh beers and tuned out Mark's voice ordering way too much pizza and garlic bread for two people who are supposed to be working tomorrow and sunk into the couch. He could almost feel tears prickling at his eyes at the sound of her voice repeating in his mind. If she'd read the phone book aloud in that voice it would have crushed him. He still couldn't bring himself to call her back, he didn't trust her or himself, he didn't want to have that final conversation that really meant that it was over for their friendship.

Even though he had Mark, a friend he was truly grateful for at this moment, he felt so empty thinking that he and Pam were ruined. At least he had Mark and Pam had Roy.

* * *

**Some more angst for you, I think I broke Pam, but tomorrow is another day... **

**Special thanks to my frequent reviewers, Starstrewn, StrawberryPajamas, TaioraWarrior, Spanky Fergerson the Third and javajunkee, you've made writing this story so much fun and forced me past two-day-long writers block. Also, you guys crack me up sometimes! I hope you all enjoy tomorrows installment because I had to wrestle it into submission to make it feel right. **

**Cleo  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Tuesday 5ish**

Jim hadn't been at work. He'd left a voicemail at seven am saying he was taking a sick day. He hadn't even said her name, just that he was taking a sick day and to let Toby know then he hung up. The day had seemed twice as long even though it should have been easier because she didn't have to worry about things being weird or them having another fight but it wasn't. She missed him and was scared that tomorrow he wouldn't just be sick, he'd quit or transfer. There had been no answer when she'd called him at lunch, his silent treatment was torture. She'd cried twice during the day and even felt like throwing up; even Dwight had gone easier on her which chilled her to her core. Now she was back in Roy's truck being driven home in silence.

Pam stared out the window watching Scranton pass by thinking she might just see Jim again. She felt hopeless but maybe there would be a chance to talk soon, once things had cooled down. Roy was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel so Pam put a little more effort into blocking it out, wishing she could be alone.

"Pam, you ok?"

"Yes." She could hardly pretend, she'd hardly slept and she was too tired to hold back the tears once again. Her tears slipped silently down her cheeks as she kept her head turned away.

"No you're not. You can tell me, I can listen, I promise."

She took a deep breath as more tears came.

"Jim and I aren't friends anymore." She cried, wiping tears away with the sleeve of her cardigan.

"Oh. That's what you're crying about?" She nodded. "You'll make a new friend Pam."

"That's not the point!" she snapped angrily, "He's the _only_ person who gets me, I need him."

Roy pulled up at the side of the road, startling Pam with the sudden change of direction. Other drivers honked their horns at the sudden manoeuvre too. They came to a sudden stop and Roy began to talk.

"Yeah. I understand." He sounded defeated. It was then that Pam realised exactly what she'd said.

"I'm sorry, god, I'm just hurting everyone." She curled up on the seat, she felt cold and shivery. She couldn't believe what she'd said but she knew she'd meant it.

"It's ok, I shouldn't have said that." There was a brief silence, Roy wasn't the type to back down so easily, even when he was in the wrong. "So, what happened between you guys?" Roy didn't look at her as he spoke but his words were still kind. He genuinely wanted to know.

"I guess I broke his trust and some... other stuff. He won't talk to me and he wasn't in work today." Pam didn't want to reveal too much, for Jim's sake mostly.

"So when did this happen? Everything was fine yesterday, wasn't it?"

"He came round last night; he'd left his iPod in the truck." She admitted, expecting Roy to get cross.

"Ok. He told you off then?" He was still so calm, no shouting at all.

Pam remembered everything, it happened so fast, she thought she was in control and it all fell apart in an instant. When the heaving sobs hit her again she could only nod. She couldn't admit to what had happened.

"I said I was s-sorry but he's still so m-mad at me. I don't know what I'll do w-without him."

Roy continued but this time he was looking at her and putting his hand on her shoulder. "God Pam, I wish we still cared about each other this much." There was no malice in his words, just sadness and defeat.

"What d-do y-you mean?" she stuttered in a slight panic. What was he saying?

"We've been coasting for a while now." Pam looked at him with a confused expression. "Well, I have. I know you're close to Halpert, I figured it kept you happy and he seemed like a stand up guy it would be ok. You know, I even thanked him once, for talking to you so you'd be happy when we went home, but shouldn't I want to be the one to keep you happy? I used to."

"You _thanked_ him?" She couldn't quite grasp the implications of what that meant, she felt betrayed but he was admitting it so freely she was taken aback. Jim had never mentioned this conversation, but he'd always protected her.

"Yeah, I know you talked to him about stuff rather than me and I haven't... really worried about that. It made my life easier." She was angry she wanted to scream at him but he wasn't trying to start an argument, something else was going on, he usually blamed her. Her mind was rushing to catch up.

"What are you're saying?" Her sobs had died down and in truth she knew where this was going, she just didn't think she could feel worse than she already did.

"I love you Pam, I think I always will, but we've both been drifting apart. I've been putting off setting a date because something's not right. I think you know that too." He looked directly at her, his eyes were a little blood shot but clear, he meant every word.

She nodded in agreement; something hadn't been right about them for a while.

"I'm sorry Pam." He said, his voice slightly hoarse. He reached out and held her hand in his. Her initial reaction was to pull away but they were so warm compared to hers and it felt good in an odd way.

"What's happening here?" Her voice was calm for a change but her heart was racing. "Are we really breaking up?"

"Do you have feelings for Halpert?" The question rushed out of his mouth like the words had been inside for years.

Pam opened her mouth to say no but nothing came out. She couldn't say no. Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt. She felt him squeeze her hand.

"I suspected. I mean, I've been thinking about other people too, what it might be like to date and stuff." Pam thought he looked like a teenager again, shy and unsure of himself, but he was supposed to have grown up, they both were.

"Who have you thought about? How many people?" She thought back to the day of the fire, he said Angela's name in front of everyone including Jim. She felt so small in that moment.

"Are you sure you wanna know?"

"I'll probably regret it but yeah." She thought that if she knew Roy's heart had strayed too she wouldn't feel as bad, maybe it was more than him just wanting to sleep with other people.

"There's one, remember that girl who came in to sell purses?"

She felt relieved. The irony. She was more jealous at the thought of Jim flirting with her than her fiancé. How did she not notice things change, like everything they were had just eroded away. She twirled her engagement ring on her finger thinking that it would be probably coming off soon. Everything was falling apart.

"Katy, yeah I remember her. Funny, you two would actually be well suited. That's gotta be the saddest thing I've ever said."

Roy undid his seatbelt and slid across to Pam who was crying heartily again and held her in his arms.

"I love you Pam but I think that maybe I should find somewhere else to live."

"What about the house Roy? You can't just leave me with it."

"I won't, I keep paying half the rent until you find a place, we'll sort out the details."

"This is really happening."

"I think so. But you've stopped crying, are you relieved?"

"No. You're all I know Roy." She knew that wasn't a reason to stay together but she was scared. Where would she live, could she support herself, what would she drive? It was all happening so quickly now but it had been coming for the last two years at least.

"You know Halp- Jim." Pam smiled a little, that little gesture helped somewhat. "I'm gonna sleep at Daryll's tonight, I'll pick up some overnight things when I drop you off."

"Ok." It's not like it would be the first night she'd slept alone but it would be her first night knowing he wasn't coming back. For all her anger at him she was overwhelmingly sad. The last nine years concluded in one calm if teary conversation in a lay-by.

They drove the last minute home still holding hands.

* * *

**For people reading this day-by-day this is a double upload, huzzah! **

**The first draft of this chapter was so easy to write, but when I reread it, Roy was so out of character I had to change it. I tried to incorporate some of Roy selfishness and the fact that Pam wouldn't really challenge him as she's had nine years of kowtowing to this man. I kinda wanted their relationship to just fart away like a damp squib (Lovely mental image for you there) rather than end in fireworks. I also wanted to leave it so we could see Pam finally starting to see what state that relationship was in and how she's got some growing to do as well as getting back in touch with reality. I just wanted to explain my Roy/Pam break up because I've done it three times now and each one has been different.**

**I hope this break up sort of caught you off guard much like it did Pam.**

**See y'all tomorrow.  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Wednesday morning**

Mark had dropped Jim off again as his car was still not fixed. Part of him wanted to take another sick day considering he'd woken up with the start of a cold but Mark had persuaded him otherwise. Well, by persuaded he meant dragged off all his bed covers and threatened to put them in the shower unless he got in there first. He also wouldn't let him leave with his iPod; apparently he couldn't be trusted, especially on just a few hours sleep. Mark also knew that in his morose mood access to an iPod would only make him worse.

He knew he looked rough but at least Dwight wouldn't accuse him of faking sickness. He hoped he looked sick enough to get sent home in case he infected the whole office but his luck wasn't that good if recent events were anything to go by.

He tried to mentally prepare himself to see Pam again. His biggest fear was that he'd cave and end up exactly where he started and that he'd just put himself through hell for nothing. He had no idea what to say or do but he decided on minimal politeness and to work through lunch. It wasn't a long term plan but it was better than hiding in the stair well for eight hours a day. Or worse, moving to the annex.

He couldn't quite place whether he was relieved or disappointed when he saw Ryan sat at reception with the weariest of expressions.

"Morning Jim. Feeling better?" Ryan hardly looked up; he asked the question out of professional obligation rather than concern.

"Uh yeah, little tired, where's Pam?" He figured it would be more incongruous if he didn't ask after Pam and he really did want to know where she was.

"She and Roy called in a personal day." He shrugged. "Kevin's taking bets, the favourite is Pam being pregnant considering how much time she spent in the bathroom yesterday but there are good odds on them eloping too. I think she got knocked-up on purpose so he'd have to marry her."

Jim really wanted to punch Ryan in the face. With a brick. Mark was on to something because the mental image was strangely satisfying. A brick would be a good thing right about now.

"Cool, I better get to work, catch up on yesterday."

Jim's legs took him to his desk but his brain had little say in the movement. It was far too busy thinking of every permutation regarding why they would _both _take a personal day. Not a sick day. A _personal_ day. Had she been crying yesterday or sick? Could she be pregnant? Was it morning sickness? Oh, please don't let that be true, he prayed to every deity he'd ever heard of, Joe Pesci included.

Eight hours of thinking had done nothing but bring on a mild case of insanity by the time Jim left the office. Selling paper was nowhere close to reaching the level of distraction he required to offset not only his own mind but the gossip circle that materialised around Phyllis's desk every half hour theorising whether Pam looked bloated or whether she'd have the guts to elope. That brick fantasy had come in handy a lot today. If Jim had his iPod with him he could have drowned it out. He wanted to blame Mark but he really had been looking out for him, staying up almost all night playing every level of Left 4 Dead until they could barely think the night before.

By the time Mark reached the parking lot to pick him up he was decidedly morose but a little less insane.

"Hey man, how'd it go?"

"She took a personal day." He let his head fall against the headrest with a muffled thud, glad he was moving away from the office with every second that passed.

"Oh. Well, I guess after you were off yesterday it makes a little sense, give you more time to settle down." Mark kept an optimistic tone but it did little to buoy Jim's spirits.

"So did he." Jim sounded completely defeated.

"Who?"

"Roy. They both took a personal day."

"So you've had eight hours to think up why?" Mark knew him well.

"Kevin was running a pool, it's fifty-fifty whether they eloped or she's pregnant."

"Or they could be sick." He said purposefully.

"They took personal days."

"Maybe they used up their sick days. New financial year hasn't started yet."

"Maybe." Jim kinda wished he'd called Mark during the day; there were no sane minds within the walls of Dunder Mifflin.

"She'll be there tomorrow, maybe you can talk, clear the air."

"I still don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything, just listen."

"When did you get so wise Mark?"

"I think I'm all tapped out of wisdom but I have an endless supply of wise-cracks, sarcasm and ass jokes."

"Do you think I should go see her, or return her call?"

"Calling her might be a good idea. If you feel ready."

"Yeah, I think I do. Today sucked without her. If she wants things to be normal, maybe I could try, I don't know if I can do it though."

"Worth a shot though, right?"

They drove the rest of the way home idly chatting and Jim started to relax now he'd made the decision to call. He didn't know what he was going to say, but he was finally ready to listen. They arrived home in good time debating whether to cook or order in.

"Yeah, but if we order in we won't _have_ to cook." Mark argued like his logic was infallible.

"I really can't remember the last time I ate a green vegetable Mark, I need real food. I'm getting scurvy."

Mark pushed open the front door and found an abundance of mail on the floor along with something he didn't expect. "I think you got some special mail." He picked up the CD case and eyed it carefully.

Jim took it from his hand. "Corinne Bailey Rae."

"She wasn't eloping then."

Jim flipped it over, there was nothing unusual about it but his heart was still racing. It had to be Pam but what did it mean?

"Her way of an apology?" Mark theorised.

Jim opened the case and out sprung a second surprise. A note. Jim swallowed hard. Mark gave a nod of encouragement and Jim unfolded the note carefully.

He instantly recognised Pam's handwriting and began to read it carefully with Mark looking over his shoulder.

_Jim, I'm so sorry. I spent days trying to figure out what that song meant to you when I should have been working out what that song meant to me. I know now and I hope you still want the same thing. _

_I'd really like to see you. Remember that part of the park we spied on Dwight flying a kite one afternoon? Under that oak tree?_

_I'll be there at six._

_I hope I'll see you there, Pam_

Jim read it through a second time and then a third. His hands started to shake a little.

"Jim?" asked Mark who'd been waiting patiently for some reaction or sign of life. "Are you having an embolism or something because you should probably breathe again."

"Ohmygod." Jim spoke on the huge breath he'd been holding to the point of dizziness.

"Yep." Mark gave him a huge hug but Jim still stood rigid still staring at the words on the page.

"Tell me I'm not imagining this."

"You are not imagining this. You've got half an hour."

"Uh, ok, shower?"

"Yeah, I've just been in the car with you, definitely shower."

"Shut up, I spent eight hours thinking Pam was pregnant and married!" Jim dashed up the stairs and showered and changed into his nicest jeans, a casual-ish polo shirt. The adrenaline was making his hands shake his mouth arid. He took one more moment to assess his appearance in the mirror and give himself a pep talk in a vain attempt to calm down.

"Ok Jim, it's just the moment you've dreamt about for the last three years that could change the course of your life and make you happier than you've ever thought possible, so, you know, no pressure." Deciding quickly that his pep talks weren't that great he took a look at the time. It was time to leave.

He practically jumped down the stairs without touching them, finding Mark in the hallway with his coat on and keys in hand.

"Ready?" Mark was bouncing with excitement and the grin on his cheeks looked painful.

"Since when did I need a chaperone? I'm going alone."

"But you need _my_ car and since I'm not letting it get stranded at some park or at her house, I'm taking you. Now come on, let's go get your girl!" It was an easy sell because there was no time to argue. Jim slung on a jacket and they both ran out to the car.

* * *

**Whoo! Jim's going to see Pam and Mark's coming too! **

**We're at the park tomorrow...**

**Oh, Jim's a George Carlin fan in my mind hence the 'deity Joe Pesci' reference that might seem a little wierd.  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**So here it is...**

**

* * *

****  
Chapter Fourteen: Wednesday Evening, just before six**

Pam sat on the table of a park bench next to the oak tree that she and Jim spent an hour hiding behind one summer day watching Dwight fly a kite while filming it and taking pictures with their cell phones. They'd never seen a kite flown that _aggressively_ before. Sitting here now, she wondered how she'd ignored her feelings for so long and how she'd ignored his as well. The fact that they had to keep so close together to keep hidden, she thought that maybe she felt something back then too. All her favourite memories had him in them and not Roy.

The evenings were lighter now but still cool. She rubbed her hands together in a futile attempt to warm them up and wished she'd suggested an indoor meet but she didn't want to be seen by anyone from work or from either of her and Roy's family. As amicable as the split was, it wasn't the right time for dating rumours which would inevitably lead to accusations that Pam had been cheating. She had to make things right with Jim though; she just hoped that note was what he was looking for.

She gave up on rubbing her hands and just pulled them back into the sleeves of her big coat. She knew that it wasn't as cold as she felt, but the anxiety running through her system was making her shiver. She glanced at the time on her cell phone for the thousandth time which she'd set on the table beside her, it was only five minutes to six. Still no sign of Jim but she had to trust that he'd gone straight home from work. A wave of panic hit her that he might have gone to pick up his car which could set him back. She'd come up with the plan just a couple of hours ago, she didn't think it through. She didn't tell him to open up the CD either, what if he never got the note? What if he just wasn't going to come? What if she was wrong? She fumbled for the phone to call him; she had to know if she was just waiting to be stood up.

"I didn't bring my kite, I hope that's ok?"

Pam found her words left her again as she turned and saw him for the first time in the longest two days of her life. He had his hands in his jacket pockets, probably from the cold but Pam wondered if they were a little shaky like hers were. She knew she was smiling but she couldn't think what to say. All she knew was that he was here and he was smiling back. God, that smile was meant for her.

"I, uh, got your note. Are you ok?" It was just like Jim to ask the question but she knew that right now, he wanted to know if they were ok and how she felt. She got off the table and walked towards him, he was letting her take the lead.

"I will be. God, I've missed you these last two days." Her words spilled out on a sigh of relief that he was here, standing in front of her. She needed to touch him. She stepped forward and flung her arms around, taking him by happy surprise. He held her too, one of his hands tenderly touching the back of her head, holding her against his chest. She could hear his heart racing.

"I missed you too. I really did." It was barely a whisper, just loud enough for the two of them to hear. They stayed like that for a moment, just basking in the stillness and letting each other take in the monumental change.

Pam pulled back but made sure both her hands slipped into his. They were warm and so much bigger than hers or anyone else's she had held, his long fingers enveloped hers up completely.

"You threw me for a loop Halpert, you know. I listened to that song but I guess you figured that out last Monday." She didn't want to bring it up, but she couldn't shy away, they had to get past it and see the good it had done.

"Oh, I knew that last Saturday." He said casually with a smile. Pam guessed that some surprise registered on her face as Jim chuckled under his breath. "Twenty one times, in fact."

"Really? That many?" She giggled nervously while her mind began to panic, oh god, he knew all that time.

"Yep, but still not as many times as I listened to it." The shy look that crept across his face was so beautiful to Pam, everything felt like it would be ok again. "You didn't hide it very well." He teased.

"I guess you did a much better job." She retorted softly.

"So when did you figure out that it was about you?" Jim was brushing his thumbs over the tops of her hands as he held them which felt like he was melting her from the inside out. He couldn't stop smiling, neither could she at this point.

"I think I knew from the first time I listened to it, I just didn't expect to feel something too and that just, turned my whole world upside down, I saw you differently and I just didn't see that coming."

She felt a comforting squeeze but he let her talk, still with his eyes locked on hers in nervous anticipation.

"I tried my hardest to convince myself I didn't feel anything more for you, I won't lie, I thought it was just a phase or a crush or something but... I do, I _really_ do and I think, if you'd like, I mean-" The words she was struggling with were cut off abruptly as Jim's lips found themselves against hers. Her eyes closed as a matter of instinct and Pam realised quickly that his kisses could take her somewhere beautiful as much as the song that brought them here could. She pulled one hand free and slipped it under his jacket around his waist, holding him closer as the kiss rolled on and on.

She eventually pulled back and noticed how breathless he was, it was wonderfully fitting. She'd been so nervous about kissing him properly for the first time, apart from the fact that it caught her by surprise it was damn near perfect. He was still breathing a little heavy. It crossed her mind that she should tease him about getting fit if he was going to be her boyfriend eventually but there were other matters to discuss first. However, he beat her to the first word.

"Would you like to go to dinner with me?" She wondered how long he'd wanted to ask her that.

"Soon, but not yet, I want to get settled first but it'll happen, I promise." She held his hand tight, not letting his immediate disappointment and confusion overwhelm him. "Come sit with me."

They moved over to the benches and sat side by side. The sun was setting but it was still bright enough to see each other clearly. Jim sat without saying a word, still holding her left hand, letting his thumb drum across her fingers.

"Roy and I had a real good talk, we decided together to end it, it wasn't just my decision. He's wanted to end it for a while but he didn't have the nerve." Some bitterness leaked out with the last words, a good reason not to rush things with Jim, she had baggage to deal with first and Jim deserved more than to be dragged through the process with her. "We're both moving out and starting again. That's why we took today off split things up, talk some more. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't ask you for Katy's number in a few weeks." Jim's eyebrows shot up so high they practically joined his hairline.

"Purse girl, Katy?" he choked out.

"Yeah," she said with a smile, "he knows that I like you too, he was pretty cool about it, relieved maybe, I think he felt less guilty for thinking about other women, like I let him off the hook."

Jim stayed silent, wisely not contributing an opinion for which Pam was grateful.

"I could do with some help apartment hunting this weekend, I get to pick out my own place for the first time; do you want to come along?" Please say yes, please say yes, she repeated in her mind. She may not be ready for an official date but this she could do; she'd never needed his friendship more.

"Of course, I'd love to. You seem really ok with all this, are you?"

"I think I am." She leant into him so her head was resting on his shoulder; she was enjoying this new touching privilege and for the first time since Friday she felt truly at peace. He felt strong beneath her but so different to Roy, like she was closer to Jim. There was one thing she wanted to clear up; it had been haunting her thoughts. "I'm just so sorry about Monday night."

"Shh, no need, I am too."

"Forgive me?"

"Always."

She found herself kissing him again, his lips a little rough from the cold this time but she'd noticed before that they became chapped easily. Noticing that fact with her lips was much more thrilling and felt so damn right she really couldn't believe that she hadn't been doing this forever.

...*...

He was running out of breath and his nose was blocked up but he was quite content to suffocate to death in this very moment. His imagination had never come close to showing him what finally kissing Pam would be like, how slow and meaningful it could be. He tried to pour everything into each one, to prove himself to her and be good enough for her. His whole body tingled and his hands desperately wanted to touch more. He pulled back and lazily opened his eyes so he could see his Pam again. She looked flushed and very happy.

"You know I think we officially have a song now." He'd always wanted to have a song. Yeah, he was that cheesy and romantic but he wasn't ashamed, he wanted all that with Pam.

"We do. Except you deleted it." Jim winced, he _thought_ she knew it was missing, now he _knew_. He hated feeling exposed, he'd spent too much of his life trying to keep a good front showing, especially to Pam. She didn't look too put out by Breathless absence, after all she'd made sure it was replaced.

"Well, I figured I had my answer, no point in listening to the questions again." He wished he could hide his expression but his discomfort was written all over his face. This eased when Pam pressed a sweet kiss to the back of his palm.

"Just when you think it's all over, huh? I'm full of surprises, Halpert." She grinned, making him shiver and it wasn't from the cold.

"That you are Beesly. You're not going to quit Dunder Mifflin are you because I don't think I could hack it without you, I'm that co-dependent, or possibly addicted." He wasn't completely joking but Pam certainly couldn't tell.

"No, actually I'm thinking about that design internship, I have most of the wedding savings because Roy's keeping those wave runners so once I've paid for an apartment, car and some furnishings I'll see where I stand. Can't wait to get my own stuff for the first time, Ikea won't know what hit it!"

He got it then. Her whole life really had been turned upside down and it wasn't just about where her heart lay, it was her home, her work, her past, her hopes and dreams. Roy moved out that day, it was far too early for a date as much as he was disappointed that the note hadn't led to everything he expected. It didn't stop her touching her fingers and feeling them gloriously bare. That was enough for now. Being here was enough.

"I'm cold." She chattered through her teeth.

"Do you wanna go somewhere and talk some more?"

"Actually, as much as I don't want to I need to cut this short, my mom was going to drive down after work and she'll be here soon. I think she's more upset about the break up than me or Roy."

They stood and held each other for one last time that night. Jim was trying to burn every memory so he could relive it again and again.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" It sounded desperate but he needed to know.

"I'll be there." He swept her up into one final lingering kiss that neither of them wanted to end and they parted. "You know I really think I've fallen for you." She whispered when her lips were still hovering over his, sending a lump into a throat which Jim had hoped would be much manlier at this point. She was so close he could inhale her words. He loved her, he'd quite literally do anything in the world for the curly haired woman stood in front of him but something stopped those exact words coming out.

"You have no idea how badly I've fallen for you." It was the most he could say, he was so close to everything he wanted but he was scared. Scared she'd change her mind, want to be on her own, that he'd overwhelm her with the depth of what he felt. He'd felt too open recently and out of control. He could take this slow. "Can I walk you back to your car?"

"Oh, I took a cab, I don't have a car yet."

"Ah, well I got a ride with Mark who..." he turned and gestured to where he'd been dropped off. Not only was Mark's car still there but the thumbs up sign he was waving out the window signalled that he'd watched the events unfold. "...has not moved. Yeah, I should have made sure he left." Pam laughed freely and they started towards the car.

"Do you think I could get a lift home?"

"Sure, if you can tolerate Mark, he's going to be quite excited."

"Really? About us?"

"Yeah, he knows that I've had my eye on you a while." That was a tame way of putting it, he'd given her his heart and she didn't even know. Mark, however, knew this all too well.

"Hey lovebirds!" Mark cooed from the window. Pam and Jim looked at each other simultaneously and Pam was smiling even more, with a little blush on her cheeks.

* * *

**Bet you were expecting the end weren't ya? **

**More to come. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Wednesday Night**

"So where to loooovers?" Mark trilled, making sure to catch Jim's mortified expression from the backseat with a little glee. Pam sweetly nudged him, trying to get him to relax a little and show him she found it funny. Jim wished he'd sprung for a cab or even walked. The fact that Mark knew a lot more about his feelings towards Pam than Pam did wasn't helping.

"Just home please Mark." Piped up Pam cheerfully. "Do you know Ford Street? I'm just off there." Jim caught the look of surprise on Mark's face in the rear view mirror, he was expecting to drive them to a restaurant, but the smirk that followed let Jim know he'd leapt to a completely different conclusion.

"Yep, my boss lives down there, near that really creepy funeral home."

"God, I'm looking forward to moving away from that place, it's like something from the Adams Family." She shuddered.

"The Adams Family house is the least scary house there is, the Walton's was scarier!" Jim prodded Pam who looked teasingly horrified.

"Seriously, I used to have nightmares about Uncle Fester, it's not a laughing matter!" They both laughed. Jim just hoped that they could always laugh like this, that they'd always have this.

"Do you want me to pick you both up from there tomorrow?" Mark offered with genuine kindness but with the obvious assumption that Jim was staying the night. Jim tensed again, he had to say something fast.

"We're just dropping Pam off." Jim said pointedly, keeping it short and sweet. He heard Pam giggle slightly which relaxed him once again. She was finding this much more amusing than he was, he just hoped Mark wouldn't mention that he loved her.

"My mom is going to give me a lift to work tomorrow; she should be here by now."

"Ok, that's cool." Jim realised that it was Mark who was a little embarrassed now because he'd stopped talking.

"Hey, um," Pam leaned towards Jim to whisper, "we should probably keep things quiet at work; keep it normal, you know, it's only been a day."

"Oh I pretty much figured that, all in your own time." Jim wondered if that meant that they were a sort of couple in a not-yet-dating-but-soon-will-be kinda way. They hadn't put a label on whatever this was.

"Thanks."

"Hey, I should probably warn you, Kevin was running bets on why you and Roy weren't in today."

"Oh I'm so gonna kick his sumo sized M&M stuffed ass." They both heard Mark snigger in the front seat.

"Well I'm just glad no one is getting a payout." Unbelievably glad. Stupendously glad. Unfathomably glad.

"Why? What were they betting on?"

"Uh..."

"Don't hold out on me Halpert." She threatened mischievously.

"That you eloped or were pregnant." He muttered quickly, not sure how she'd react, it was after all the life she wanted a week ago.

"Should have called you, we could have cleaned up." She grinned. The sun had set and he could only see her smile in long flashes as car headlights passed by, illuminating the interior. He was sure he'd never been happier.

"I like the way you think, Beesly."

Their quiet conversation was interrupted by Mark, he'd slowed down, they were already in Ford Street.

"Where here, Pam?"

"Oh, next right, thanks Mark."

"You're very welcome."

She turned her attention back to Jim. "Walk me to my door?"

"I was planning on it." It was the simple things like that he'd wanted to do for so long, it was finally here. Well, sort of.

"This is me." Mark pulled up outside what used to be Roy and Pam's love nest. "Thanks again Mark."

"No problem Pam, I'll look after your new boyfriend for you, make sure he doesn't get fat or anything."

Pam laughed, "He's not my boyfriend but I don't think Jim can do fat."

Jim gave Mark a look that told him he'd explain later and got out the car. Jim swore he saw concern on Mark's face but the street lights made it hard to tell.

...*...

They walked hand in hand to her front door. Pam was on cloud nine but she'd be glad to get some sleep tonight, thinking that she'd lost Jim had led to some bad nights.

"I can't really believe how this day turned out." Jim started. "I've wanted this for a long time but I'm good to wait, no rush ok?"

She guessed he'd picked up on the 'not my boyfriend' comment. She'd regretted saying it like that but she wasn't ready yet, she had too much to work out first but she did want Jim, very much, not just for his recently apparent hotness.

"I know. I'll see you tomorrow at work, maybe we can cook up a prank over lunch or something."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I thought this would be weirder." She said abruptly, letting her thought escape her mouth before her brain had any say in the matter.

"How do you mean?"

"You know, holding your hand and... kissing." She whispered the last word for no good reason but it amused Jim. "But it's not. At least I hope it isn't for you."

"Nope, feels right to me." He smiled and she knew he was going to kiss her again and it still made her stomach flip. It was sweet and gentle, anything more and she'd have to drag him inside for a high school style make-out session, it was all too new and exciting. It felt like Roy had moved out years ago even though they were standing on the doormat they'd bought on their first trip to Target. She couldn't take their relationship any further until she wasn't surrounded by the relics of her failed engagement.

They broke away and Pam felt cold again, she missed him already as ridiculous as it sounded in her own head.

"This is the start of something though, isn't it?" Jim asked with caution.

"Without a doubt."

"Goodnight Pam." He husked.

"Goodnight Jim."

* * *

**So guys and gals, this completes the first plot arc. **

**Yup. There's more. Much more.  
**

**We'll be changing gear and watching things develop between these two over the coming weeks. It didn't feel right that Pam would be ready to declare that she loved Jim because she's still got a lot to sort out. Jim will be there, he always has been. We'll also be seeing much more of Mark (I have plans for him) and both families. There will be less structure to the next plot arc but there will be music, fun, kisses and secrets. **

**It's been so much fun writing this, every review that sprung up in my inbox has made me all smiley and happy, I hope y'all will stick with the story as it grows.  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**So here we are at the beginning of part two. We're going to explore the beginning of Jim and Pam as they fumble their way through the transformation from friends to more than that. A slow start but things will pick up pace and the chapters will generally be much longer (daily uploads might falter if I can't keep up). There will be more mature themes coming up but I'll warn you when those chapters appear. Enough from me, here's chapter sixteen set at the weekend with Jim and Pam apartment hunting.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Sixteen: Saturday Afternoon**

"Why did that place make me feel like there were dead bodies hidden in the walls?" Pam wrung her hands like the place they'd just viewed had clung to her skin, she'd never been happier to be back in Jim's car.

"Well, it could have been the landlord with the eyes of a serial killer, the odd stains on the floor which were slightly sticky or the smell..."

"Definitely the smell." They both burst out laughing.

It had been a great day so far. The last two days at work had been difficult due to Roy appearing upstairs for each break and lunch to sort out more things like their joint bank account and their lease but it needed to be done. Pam noticed Jim always tried to make himself scarce but the awkwardness between him and Roy could have spanned continents. Now, they finally had time to themselves with no prying eyes or interruptions and Jim had certainly taken the stress out of finding a new home on a tight budget.

"I still really like that first one." Pam had fallen in love with this one bedroom second floor apartment the moment she set foot inside. The morning light lit up the living space making it look like it was glowing and she'd already pictured where everything would go and which colours she'd paint the walls. The kitchen was smaller than she'd like but she hoped that she and Jim would be eating out more soon anyway. She didn't need a place that was that big anyway, it was only her. Strangely, that thought didn't scare her as much as she thought it would.

"Well let's go get some lunch and swing by that place again and see if you want to sign some papers. Hopefully you'll love it as much the second time around."

"This is kinda huge, isn't it?" She said excitedly. Her own place. Queen of her own castle.

"It certainly is, in a great way. Oh hey, Al Fredo's Pizza Cafe is just up here, fancy Italian?"

"Sounds great."

They arrived at Al Fredo's and settled into a booth against the street window. The afternoon sun had found some heat again and it really felt like spring was here to stay. They decided to split a pizza, mushrooms and ham on her side, pepperoni and extra cheese on his.

"Thanks for coming along today, I've never had to apartment hunt before, we took over Roy's cousin's lease as a favour and we ended up staying there." Pam was consciously trying not to bring up Roy too much but it was unavoidable at some points.

"I think the hunt was over before it began, I could tell you loved that first place as soon as you walked in, your face just lit up, I know you were working out which colours to paint it."

"I wasn't! Ok, I was arranging furniture but I thought later, what about yellow in the kitchen, a nice sunshine yellow but not too pastel-y, vivid but not too bright... wow, you have the most confused look on your face." She laughed. His brow was knotted like he was trying to figure out an algebraic equation.

"Of course not, I'm enjoying my education on the colour yellow." He sat back in the booth and stretched his arms out. Pam was still enjoying the novelty of seeing him in his normal clothes again, she was starting to look forward to each new look like it was now her privilege to see him like that. Today he was wearing this smart dark green sweater, he told her he wanted to impress landlords so he'd be a good character reference for her. She loved that he'd made that effort and thought that deeply.

"Well you'll learn a lot about colour when we swing by the DIY store on the way home, I wanna pick up some colour books and swatches."

"Your wish is my command. By the way, I think yellow would look great in that kitchen." He'd been smiling at her all day but this smile was her favourite so far. He hadn't even complained that she just assumed he'd drive her to the DIY place; she planned on buying him something from one of the vending machines in the exit as a thank you. He'd like that.

Not before long they were sat with a pizza between them and two strawberry milkshakes made with properly with vanilla ice cream.

"I can't believe this is really happening, sometimes I feel like I'm watching an alternate version of myself."

"That's weird." He pulled a face but then grinned.

"Have you ever lived alone?" That was what scared her the most, she was excited now but would she get lonely?

"No, I went from my parents house, fortunately not sharing an actual room with my brothers, to sharing at college with loads of different people and then when I came back to Scranton  
Mark and I decided to get a place together. I had to rescue him from his mom anyway."

"What's wrong with Mark's mom?"

"She's uh, loves her son very much." Jim left it up to Pam's interpretation.

"That bad?"

"Worse." He'd spare Mark the embarrassment of Pam knowing the details of his over-protective single mother. "Apart from his refusal to admit that techno is just god awful noise he's not a bad roommate."

"Well you'll be pleased to know that my apartment will be a techno-free zone."

"You know I have earned the right to check out your music collection, I bet you've got some classics on there, The Jonas Brothers, The Backstreet Boys, Britney."

"You've totally misjudged me, it's full of gangsta rap, I'm crazy for Snoop and Fiddy cent, dog." She knew she wasn't keeping a straight face.

"Yeah, you're real street Pam." He jeered before taking a huge bite of his pizza.

"Well, you better look quick, I'm giving my Durosport to Dwight."

"Wha'?" the question was muffled by his food.

"There's method to my madness Halpert." She sighed, unsure about whether she should share anymore. "But I feel weird talking to you about Roy-stuff."

"I'm still your friend Pam." He put down his pizza to give her his full attention. "Spill."

"You asked for it." A sip of her delicious milkshake and she began. "So I'm sat on the couch last night with my Thai green curry I made from scratch, proper lemon grass and everything, and I've got an episode CSI Vegas on even though I've seen that episode twenty times."

"Which one?"

"Mother of the groom tied to the back of the wedding car."

"Oh yeah, the bridesmaids did it. Carry on."

"So I'm sat there and I'm thinking about how I never used to cook what I liked, I'd never even buy the ingredients even when I ate on my own and I sure as hell would have ended up with some hours long sport thing on the TV because Roy had money on it and I just found myself getting so mad because... because I did all that, I cooked what he liked, I let him watch what he wanted and tivoed my stuff or just missed out. I did all that to please him."

Jim was listening intently as Pam was letting it all spill out.

"It wasn't like he forced me, I just let it happen. Then there it was, my mp3 player was just sat there on the coffee table and it just represented everything I was thinking about. He said  
he was going to get me an iPod, that's why I traded it." She clocked his expression quickly. "And I'd still trade it now even if he'd gotten me a diamond tiara and a Paris vacation, you know, that teapot was the best and most special present I've ever gotten. I have your high school year book picture in my bedside table." She wanted to reach out and touch his hand but she forced herself to maintain her distance, she needed more time and blurring the lines wasn't going to help. She'd tried to make it clear that she would get there eventually.

"You know your present came..." he paused and coughed like he was choking on air but it was the effects of his cold. Pam pushed his drink towards him and he took a sip. She thought the red tinge to the end of his nose was cute. "Thanks. Uh, yeah, carry on."

"Ok, well I was just thinking about what the hell happened to me? What happened to Pam? When I was growing up I didn't think I'd ever be like that. When did I become that mouse? I mean the only times I ever really felt like I was being myself was when I was with you and even then I was holding back a bit."

"Why were you holding back?" he face was a picture of concern, Pam felt like she'd said too much but carried on anyway.

"I wanted you to like me. My world was kinda small and boring and my world always felt a little bit bigger around you." She chuckled. "Yeah, I was going through a pop psychology phase last night, waaaay too much self analysing on a glass of wine but it's so weird because I thought all this change would be harder, those first few days, but it's like I have second chance. My mom helped a lot too, we stayed up late talking, she pointed out a few things that I probably didn't take too well at the time but she was right you know, I was too wrapped up to see it."

"Sounds like all this self-reflection is doing some good. You know I never thought you were boring in the slightest, there's a whole world of excitement in your mind alone, I could spend my vacation in there."

It had to be the most unusual compliment she'd ever gotten but it meant the world to her. Jim had always gotten her in a way no one else had. She loved that he seemed to find her mind attractive, she just hoped he'd like the rest of her too.

"Tell me more about the mp3 player then." He encouraged.

"Sure, so that thing just represented everything that was wrong. It's not like I feel like I should have gotten the iPod, it's not really about that, I just felt in that moment a little... second best. I wasn't perfect either though." She was sure she wasn't putting her across well but it was such a jumble. She really did care for Roy and he was never horrible to her, it just wasn't right. "I don't think we were ever that in sync, I mean, he'd never have thought to have done something like the teapot or change my Dundie award."

"You knew about that?" He looked so shocked which made a Cheshire cat-like grin spread across her face. He was too easy.

"I had an idea, you just confirmed it." She spoke with satisfaction that he'd fallen into her trap. She knew Michael wouldn't have changed it without prodding and Jim was the only person she knew who cared enough to change it. That was the difference between Jim and Roy.

"Nice." He conceded. "So come on, why give the thing to Dwight?"

"Well first I tried to destroy it, I stamped on it, hit it with a rolling pin, threw it out a window and you know Dwight was right, it's really, really durable, it just wouldn't break. So I was sat outside and the best memory I had about it was Dwight's concussion so I figure, I'll give it to Dwight. The nice Dwight I met that day, I'm sure he's inside there somewhere."

"In a weird and twisted way, that makes sense."

"I've just got so much to sort out in my own head, you know, I keep thinking things over and remembering stuff. Good and bad. Thanks for letting me ramble that out, I don't know what I'd do without you right now."

...*...

Pam had never been that openly critical of Roy before. Yeah, she'd complained but she usually made excuses, just like she did about that cheap-ass mp3 player, apparently it was so he could put extra money in the wedding fund that month. While he was glad Pam was starting to see through Roy and how she changed when she was around him, it was going to be rough ride figuring it all out.

"No pressure remember, nine years is a lot of stuff to work through, I'll always listen though. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thanks." He could feel her gratitude but then they'd always said more with looks than words anyway.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"How long was your longest relationship?"

It was one of the more personal questions she'd asked during their friendship and Jim wanted them to cross that friend/couple boundary even if they technically weren't a couple yet. It still made him nervous though, what if Pam thought differently after he'd opened up more? He had to be honest, though not too detailed.

"Not that long really, about nine months in college, nothing compared to nine years."

"So what happened? What was she like?"

"Her name was Ilka and we got together in my first month of college. She was nice, Dutch, an economics student, really left wing and into social justice, she was always fighting a cause but she was a lot of fun, a real free spirit. She seemed to like me for who I was even if she wanted to educate me sometimes. I grew up a lot with her but it was never really going to last, she met some tree hugging eco-guy during the summer and we broke up."

"Ok. Did you love her?"

"No, not really. It was still good though, just not love. She never met my parents or anything."

Pam bobbed her head like she was taking this all in. Jim felt hot and uncomfortable, wishing he knew what she was thinking. He'd never shared much of his dating past though Pam knew about most of the women he'd dated while at Dunder Mifflin, not many of those hit the two month mark. Then, being hopelessly in love with another woman would do that to you.

"But it was still a happy thing, a positive experience, and all that jazz?" She said casually, Jim relaxed a little but he still felt like he was interviewing for the position as Pam's next beau.

"A hundred percent. She was my first serious girlfriend." And first in another respect too.

"We've never really talked about this stuff. I mean we've talked about high school parties and first kisses."

"Yeah, I had looooads to say about high school!" Thank goodness his gramps was right about growing into the Halpert nose.

"I'd have liked you in high school."

"I was a dork." He really was a dork back then. Still was a little but he thought Pam liked that part too. She had more to discover though.

"But so was I."

"I prefer me as I am now though."

"Me too."

They concentrated on eating in a comfortable silence. He genuinely wanted to be there for her but today had been trying. He had to keep reminding himself that she'd only just broken up with Roy and there were a lot of issues that Pam had to work through on her own as much as he'd like to be with her officially. The silence let the words he'd heard earlier repeat tauntingly in his mind.

_Oh, he's not my boyfriend. We're not together. This is just my friend Jim. He's not my boyfriend._

Every single landlord they'd seen today had assumed they were a couple. Pam was right to correct them, they technically weren't, but they weren't just friends either.

Mark had called it 'pre-relationship limbo' and Jim agreed. It was driving him a little crazy that they hadn't kissed either today though he'd wanted to again but she had made it pretty clear she needed his friendship right now. It was just his anxiety getting to him. He'd even come close to telling her about the Christmas card but he bottled it. He told himself it was too soon and it would just put pressure on her and this wait would be more than worth it in the end. He'd come too far to ruin it now.

_He's not my boyfriend._

"Jim?"

"Yeah?"

"You totally spaced out on me, what were you thinking about?"

"About songs we could download on to your mp3 player before we give it to Dwight." It was a lie but he considered it a white one, she didn't need to hear the crazy insecure ramblings of a grown man.

"Oooh, like the soundtrack to Mamma Mia!" Her mind set to work and she looked more animated than ever.

"And Hannah Montana."

"What do you know about Hannah Montana?" She asked mock incredulously.

"I have nieces Pam, I pride myself on being a cool uncle."

"You really are great with kids." Jim's imagination conjured up the image of a child with her copper locks and his eyes. He pushed that back down from whence it came and forced himself back into the here and now.

"So are you, once you relax, they smell fear." He claimed knowingly, he was sure it was true.

"Did you just compare a child to a wolf?"

"No. To a bear. Have you learnt nothing from Dwight?" She laughed and it reminded Jim why he'd stuck it out this long in the first place. He reached out and lightly touched her hand. She slipped it gently away with an apologetic smile.

_Not my boyfriend._

"We better settle up and head out before someone takes my castle."

Hang in there Jim, she'll get there, he told himself.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen: Sunday Morning**

"There it is, there it is, there it is!" Pam pointed out the backseat car window. "Second floor, that's mine!"

"Oh it's cuuuute Pam! You can put in flower boxes!" Squealed Penny from the front passenger seat. "When do you move in?"

"Two weeks, oh my god, I'm so excited, it's perfect, I can't wait to show you inside." She signed the lease when Jim took her back yesterday. He'd given her the sweetest character reference too even the older female landlord hugged him before they left.

"We'll help you move, won't we Dan?" She spoke sweetly at the driver, she and Danny had been together for four months now and it looked like it was going to last, they were hideously in love and perfect for each other. He was different to other guys she'd fallen for, with his large boxer-type build and five o'clock shadow he looked like he got into fist fights each weekend as a hobby but he was as soft as butter. She half expected Penny to reveal he wrote poetry or something.

"Of course, Pen." He flashed his girlfriend a beaming smile that made her giggle.

They were on their way to a car lot where Danny knew the owner. As he was a mechanic he was helping Pam find a car based on something more than it being clean and whether it had a CD player. As much as Pam wanted to become an independent woman, she did not have the time to learn everything she needed to know about buying a used car. Armed with a Blue Book and Penny and Danny, she hoped this would be a one day excursion.

"Sooo..." Penny began, twisting around in her seat to face Pam, "how'd it go with hot Jim yesterday?"

"Ugh, just call him Jim please, Pen." Pam covered her face in embarrassment; it was her own fault that Penny was calling him that.

"You were the one talking about his hotness last night on my voicemail." She replied in a sing-song voice making Pam feel worse. Penny knew what she was doing.

"I know, I know, Jim bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate the apartment and I finished it off after he left so can we go back to just Jim please?" Penny had already teased her most of the morning. She remembered everything about her drunken message and was just pleased she didn't think it was a good idea to call Jim too.

"Sooo... how'd it go with _Jim_?"

Great, yeah, really great." They'd laughed all day, talked about some more serious stuff, mostly her stuff but he was great all the same. It was tough to hold back from being more tactile but every now and then she'd think of Roy and it was still too soon. Yesterday was the first whole day she hadn't seen him since they broke up.

"Kiss 'im?" Her sister was grinning manically.

"Penny." She cautioned firmly.

"Oh come on, we never got to do this when you were in high school!"

"We're adults now."

"So? I tell you stuff about guys." They both noticed Danny stiffen up at the wheel. "I told you how I fell madly in love with Danny when I first saw him." They shared a gooey look and Pam rolled her eyes. "Come on, did he kiss you again?"

"No. We're just friends for now, I want to get my life sorted, it's too soon."

"Is he ok with that? I mean, you kissed him at the park."

"He said he'll give me time. I just... want to be... better for him, I don't want him to think he's got to rescue me or fix me. I want to be going somewhere, I need a plan and extra stuff in my life. I don't want Jim to just fill a vacancy."

Penny nodded in agreement and reached out to touch Pam's knee gently.

"Well, don't wait too long; he's been in love with you for ages just the way you are."

Pam's eyes went wide and her mouth dry.

"Jim doesn't love me."

Penny shot back a look, "Are you serious?"

"Yes, and I'd think I'd know. You've never even met him!" Pam was getting irritated; Penny fell in love so easily and was a sucker for a romantic story. Pam really didn't need her sister's love-heart-shaped rose-tinted glasses looking at her and Jim.

"Get real Pam, all those little things he's done for you, he wanted you to take that internship and what about that perfect fake first date?"

"What fake date?" Piped up Danny, interested in the recent developments. Pam fell back in her seat and waited while Penny told the story, there would be no stopping her once she got started.

"It was so romantic in a subtle Jim way. The whole office stayed late and read her bosses screen play like a radio play which is just so Pam and her kooky sense of humour, then he cooked her a dinner from what he found in the fridge and vending machines and they ate it on the roof during a fireworks display."

"Wow, that is romantic. An office seduction." He waggled his eyebrows at Penny.

"It was just Jim being nice. No seduction!" Pam protested weakly, not really believing herself.

"But that's not the end, then they walked out and listen to his iPod together and they swayed in the parking lot."

"Swayed?" Asked Danny slightly confused.

"Yup, no touching, just swaying to the music. Oh! They were listening to very same iPod that revealed his unrequited love! It's kismet!"

"Wow Pam, he sounds great." Trust Penny to pick the most romantic mechanic on the eastern seaboard.

"Jim is great, he's amazing and funny and so smart _but..._" she emphasised, "he is not in love with me."

Penny ignored her and carried on talking to Danny. "He's hot too, in a skinny indie band way, I've only seen his picture from their Christmas party, he's got this over grown hair thing going on," Danny had a close shaven head after starting to lose his hair when he was twenty-one, it suited him though. "...but Pam thinks he's hot, dontcha Pam?"

"I'm just not telling you anything ever again." Pam did think he was sexy if her recent dreams had anything to say about it but she was still trying to wrap her head around the change.

"Is he going to help you move too?"

"Yeah," Pam realised Penny was too. "Oh god you have to calm down by then, please."

"I'll be fine, I won't be the one distracted by his hotness and trying not to kiss him. Why did you stop the kissing?"

"Do you even remember Roy?" She sighed.

"I remember he wasn't good enough for you." She said coldly, flipping back around in her seat.

"Penny!" She had no idea. She knew they didn't have a lot in common but this came as a surprise.

"I'm sorry Pam, but he wasn't. You always lit up when you spoke about Jim, I feel like I already know him, Roy stifled you but you would never listen."

Before Pam could respond to her sister her cell phone rang out. Jim's name read on the display. Pam opened the phone and tried to keep her voice down, grateful for the distraction. Penny put on the radio for a little privacy and locked hands with Danny.

"Hey you."

"Hey Pam, I can't talk long, we're about to go into combat!" he spoke with urgent excitement. She was just happy to hear his voice.

"Combat?"

"Me, Mark and a couple of other guys decided to go paintballing instead of basketball, but guess who's here too!"

"Please be Dwight; oh please say it's Dwight." She beamed, knowing it was true.

"Oh yes and he has not disappointed. He's wearing full fatigues, knee and elbow pads, a padded vest. He's got camouflage paint on his face, Pam, oh it's perfect! I've got a picture on my cell; I'll send it to you later." Jim couldn't restrain his excitement, it was infectious and she found herself laying back in the car seat giggling as he spoke.

"G.I. Dwight! This is awesome." She whispered to play along. "Has he seen you?"

"I don't think so, but I wanted to give you first dibs on where to shoot him."

"Are you that good of a shot?"

"It's paintball, how hard can it be?"

"Hmmm..." she pondered. "Gotta be the ass, wonder if you can stop him sitting down all day tomorrow?"

"You are evil, Beesly."

"Did you expect any more from me really?"

"Well I guess there's one other place that could hurt more..."

"Oh even I'm not that mean!" She guffawed. They were interrupted by some shouting in the background which she recognised as Mark.

"I gotta go."

"Do me proud Sergeant Halpert."

"I will. Have fun today Pam, I'll call you later when I've bagged my prey."

"Bye, Jim."

"Bye Pam." She hung up and stared at her phone for a few seconds still smiling broadly and wishing she was with Jim to watch the action. She thought he'd look really nice in fatigues, darting from tree to tree, sniping at Dwight like a commando.

She realised that Penny had turned round and was staring at her slack-jawed.

"What?"

"You love him too."


	18. Chapter 18

**Bumper chapter folks, I was going to split it in two but it broke the flow so make a cup of tea and enjoy. They'll be another update on Wednesday. It's still Sunday so lets see how paintball and car shopping went... Oh, Mark's a little sweary at the beginning but he's a good lad and we love him as much as his mother does.  
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**Chapter Eighteen: Sunday late afternoon**

"Fuuuuuuuuck..." Mark groaned as he collapsed backwards over the arm of the couch. "Owwwww, mother..."

"Do you want me to tell your mother you curse like that?" Jim slumped to the floor in front of the couch with his sore legs stretched out under the coffee table. Everything hurt.

Mark replied with the sole use of his middle finger.

Jim had cursed much worse when the first paintball hit him in the neck leaving a suspiciously hickey-like bruise on his neck courtesy of one Dwight Schrute. He touched at it with his fingers and winced.

"Jesus, I thought it would be like nerf." He rubbed at his ribs and wondered if he might have cracked something. "Do you think Ollie will ever have kids?"

"I think he's more worried about the thing you've got to do to get the kids. Man, if I'm ever stupid enough to do that again, I'm wearing a cup. A titanium cup."

"Feel like you've gotten all that aggression out your system?"

"Yeah, though I may have replaced it with a significant amount of paint. I hope it's not toxic. "

Their conversation was halted when Jim's cell phone started to ring.

"It's Pam."

"If you want privacy then you move. I ain't."

Getting up was an impossibility but he answered anyway. "Hey. Are you a car owner?"

"I sure am! Pam Beesly is now the proud owner of a Toyota Yaris in sky blue. Wanna see it?"

"Sure."

"Cool, I'll drive round now; you can regale me with your victorious war stories."

"Yep, we kicked ass." He adjusted his back against the couch to avoid one of the nastier bruises.

Mark's bark of sarcastic laughter gave him away.

"I'll see you soon; maybe I can get some truth out of you."

"Oh, I think you'll see the truth."

Mark piped up again, "And smell it!"

"Ok after hearing that, I'll be round in an hour and you both better shower or I'm not coming near you! Are you still in your fatigues?"

Jim lowered his voice to whisper, "Miss Beesly, did you just ask me what I'm wearing?"

"Dude, I'm right here." Mark quipped from his prone position.

"Uh, no, well, maybe a bit." He could almost hear her blush. "I'll see you soon."

They said their goodbyes and hung up.

...*...

An hour later and Pam couldn't wait to see Jim. She'd changed into a cream coloured v-neck sweater she'd borrowed from Penny earlier which was so much nicer than her usual casual fare and felt much more confident. She had the radio station tuned into her choice and all the presets were her own too. She was singing at the top of her voice to the Scissor Sisters as she drove and she couldn't remember ever feeling so free.

"_Gonna take your mama out all night, yeah, we'll show her what it's all about, we'll get her jacked up on some cheap champagne, we'll let the good times all roll out."_

She pulled into Jim's street and she felt the butterflies. Was Penny right, had she fallen for him so much she loved him? She could tell something special was happening and she didn't want to rush it, but Penny's words had sent her mind into yet another whirl. That had been happening too much recently; she just wanted to find her feet again.

She pushed those thoughts away and parked in Jim's drive. He'd appeared at the front door before she'd gotten out of her car, his hair was still damp from his shower and he'd just slung on some baggy jeans and a hoodie. It was the most relaxed she'd seen him and Pam's butterflies went haywire. This never used to happen when she saw him, but then, she never thought he'd reciprocate.

"It's the Beesly-mobile!" He declared and she laughed.

"So, what do you think, wanna go for a spin?"

"Definitely."

She started towards the car but stopped when she noticed the vicious looking bruise on his neck. If she hadn't known he'd been paintballing she'd have thought it was a super-enthusiastic hickey. "So, how did you get that hickey, Jim?" She accused, obviously not teasingly enough from the look of panic on his face.

"Oh, god, no this isn't-." He reached for it and winced again. "No, that was Dwight."

"Dwight gave you a hickey?" The broad smile on her face finally broke his worry. He was too easy to prank some days.

"Very funny, it hurts like hell."

"Come here." She stood up on tiptoe, braced her palms against his chest and went to kiss the bruise chastely. The moment her lips touched his heated skin something changed inside her. It felt so intimate she didn't want to stop so she held her lips pressed against him for a second, she could feel his taut muscle beneath her lips and she could smell his shower gel; it smelt so much like him but more. She dropped slowly back on to her heels but the look she and Jim were sharing was far from chaste. He'd felt the change too. His lips were parted slightly; his cold meant he was breathing through his mouth, but that just made him look so much more enticing. He brought his hand up a brushed strand of hair out of her face before letting his fingers linger for a moment. She sensed his fear. For once she stopped thinking and pulled him to her.

This was different than before and she was lost. They were kissing deeper than ever before, Jim's hands had wrapped around her and their tongues entwined for the first time. He tasted like her brand of Colgate and something uniquely him that she'd only gotten a hint of before. The kiss was made all the more intense as she was pressed against the full length of his body, so familiar yet so new and exciting. Her hands which were once in his wet hair were now trailing down his back-"

"Ow!" He muffled into her mouth, she pulled back in shock thinking that maybe she bit his tongue or something and berating herself internally for being a rubbish kisser.

"You ok? Oh god, did I-?"

"Bruises." He interrupted with a soft smile and dark eyes. "Turns out Dwight was underdressed, it was brutal out there." He twisted round and lifted his hoodie so he could see the small of his back. "Wow, no wonder I remember that one."

It should have been exciting to see under his top but Pam stared gobsmacked at the large multicoloured welt that seemed to be growing and shifting into new shades by the second. Greens, purples, reds and black, it looked like the bruise should show on the other side. She felt her fury flare instantly at the sight of the injury to _her_ Jim. Someone hurt _her_ Jim.

"Dwight did that to you? Oh I'm gonna make his life hell tomorrow, I'll glue all his pens together and I'll swap all the keys around on his keyboard and draw a handlebar moustache on his bobblehead so he's got to grow one!" She growled and paced. Jim reached out and stopped her with a gentle hold on her arm.

"No, that wasn't Dwight, that was from... someone else." He gently pulled her close again, the intense look that had sparked to life was still present and Pam was please to be back in his embrace. He obviously liked her all protective and riled up.

"Who? I'm going to have to hurt them."

Jim shrugged and looked at his feet before answering.

"Han... Hans. It was from Hans, big guy from Germany, I think he had military training. He got me almost point blank, I tried to run but he got me."

"Hans?" she repeated sceptically. "A likely story, I wonder what Mark made of this "Hans"?"

"So how about that drive!"

Pam laughed at his obvious diversion tactic and went along with it.

"Come on; get in, if you can sit that is?" She quirked a suggestive eyebrow and Jim just smirked in response.

"I think that's the only part of me they didn't get." He said bitterly, letting his annoyance shine through.

"Good."

They both climbed in Pam's new car and set off in no particular direction. She didn't know whether to bring up the kiss as it had ended so abruptly. They sat in silence for a moment before Jim spoke.

"Hey Pam?"

"Yeah?"

"You look really lovely today, beautiful, y-you look beautiful." He stuttered. Pam bit her bottom lip as she smiled, feeling a little over emotional at his heartfelt words drenched in nerves.

"Thanks." It was all she could muster; she just hoped the look on her face said the rest. She didn't want to reject his compliment; after all, they'd just shared an amazing kiss even though they aren't officially together yet. She just couldn't help herself, maybe waiting wasn't her best idea but she needed more time, she was getting there though. She had to distract herself.

"Check out how this thing corners!" She swung the car swiftly round a corner causing Jim to reach out and grab the door handle. Pam just laughed. "I did warn you!"

"You have insurance right? And a licence?" He asked with genuine fear for his life.

"You need a licence to drive a car?" she replied sarcastically, breaking a little late for the lights.

"Ok, you are having way too much fun; it's a Toyota Pam, not a race car."

"But it's my Toyota and it's all mine, it's just awesome."

"I know what you mean. I remember my first car, this old battered Honda that looked like it had been on fire once but I bought it with the money I made working on a mobile hot dog stand in the summer."

"Wow, I never knew you did that."

"Yeah, it didn't pay much per hour but we took it to festivals and events so there were plenty of hours to work and I got to see some really cool bands. By the September I bought my Honda out right. Proudest moment, I earned it."

"That's totally how I feel. So where do you wanna go? Grand Canyon? Mexico? New York?"

"Anywhere you want."

...*...

Jim's knee jiggled nervously. He couldn't believe how he'd stuttered out that compliment, he knew it was a mistake to push after she'd kissed him and the words came out as a complete mess. It's not like she just kissed him but she'd devoured him in the space of a few seconds, it was enough to make him worry about having to think some very unsexy thoughts to control himself. Not that he didn't want Pam to know how good she made him feel but the timing and location could have been better.

He reminded himself that they were still ok even if he didn't understand exactly where he stood right now. It was torture but he'd go through it for her, he'd take what she was willing to give, especially for a kiss like that. At least he didn't have to worry about her not seeing him that way, it had always been his worst nightmare that one day she'd say he was the brother she'd never had.

"So what's next on your to-do list?"

"I think I'm going to pick out some Ikea stuff and get it delivered to my new place the day after I move. I can do that from work. My mom and dad offered to buy me a new couch as a moving in present so we'll go pick that out during the week."

"Are they ok now? About you and Roy?" He hated saying Roy's name aloud, the sooner he was behind them the better.

"Yeah, I think so. They've known Roy since he was sixteen so it's a little weird but they've gotten used to it now they've seen I'm ok. I think they were just worried I'd fall apart or would move back home or something."

"Not like you're sitting in the corner singing Celine Dion songs, right?" He smiled to himself.

"I was thinking about signing up for an art class too." She sounded so meek as she spoke, almost like she was asking for approval.

"That would be awesome Pam, you should do as many as you'd like. Your new living room has got great light for painting too and you have your own walls to hang up your best pieces."

"I noticed the light too, art's an expensive hobby though." Roy was gone but not forgotten he thought bitterly.

"Well it's not like you smoke or drink loads. Why not spend money on something that makes you happy, you're too good not to."

"I guess. Be worth a try, huh?"

"You'll love it Pam."

"I'll turn round here or we'll hit the highway."

They head back to Jim's still chatting idly, Pam put on her radio and showed off her presets. They sat back and listened to The Bangles Manic Monday on the way home and Pam revealed that she knew all the words as she sang along. Jim sat back in awe watching her sing like she hadn't a care in the world. She looked really lovely in the sweater she was wearing, it fit her nicely. Just being able to spend time with Pam being herself was great. He felt really lucky in that moment.

They arrived back at Jim's house and silence filled the car when Pam turned off the engine.

"Do you want to come in for a bit, have a drink?" He asked hopefully. It would be great for her to meet Mark again too.

"Yeah, that be great, I've got nowhere else to be."

Jim escorted her in and showed her into the living room. He was glad that he and Mark had cleaned up recently and had the windows open; it could get very obvious two men lived there sometimes.

Mark was slumped on the couch almost horizontal playing Project Gotham Racing, the bruises ad scrapes on his arms all too visible.

"Oh hey Pam!" He paused the game and sat up straight like his mother just walked into the room. "How are you doing?"

"Better than you, you guys got pulverised!"

"These are badges of honour, Pamela, tisk." He shook his head with mock disappointment. "...Or are they badges of suckiness, I can never remember." Pam laughed, Jim was relieved that they both seemed relaxed around each other, he hoped that they'd be hanging out a lot in the future, when he and Pam weren't enjoying their alone time of course.

"Drink Pam? I have some orange juice, grape soda, coke, water, coffee?"

"A coke would be great."

Jim left and Mark made an excuse to follow him. Pam settled on the couch and felt quite at home.

...*...

"Wow man, I saw you to kissing that was hot! You're an item now, right?" Mark was speaking in a fast whisper so Pam didn't overhear but Jim could barely keep up.

"What?"

"You and Pam, you're officially together now?" He was still whispering and he looked worried.

"Uh, no, well, she didn't say anything. Why are you worrying about this man?"

"I'm just looking out for you, I mean, I saw her kiss your neck and then she kissed you and I thought that maybe she'd come round to make things official."

"I don't know, maybe it have gone that way but she touched that bit where that girl Hannah shot me and I made a complete fool of myself because it hurt and I said ouch while we were still kissing. Oh, I told her a German guy called Hans shot me, military guy so keep that up. I'm happy though, happiest I've been in a long time, I know you're looking out for me but it's ok, it'll happen in time. She's told me, we're on the same page Mark."

Mark didn't look convinced but he let it go. He grabbed a can of coke for himself as the house phone rang.

"I'll get that, you get back to Pam."

"Thanks." Jim found Pam with the Xbox controller in her hands blasting through one of the cityscapes that Mark was playing.

"You know I'm alright at this! I can practice in my new car." Jim could tell she was trying to get a rise out of him.

"Budge up." Jim grabbed the spare controller. "I'll show you how it's really done."

Before Jim could join in Mark popped his head around the door. "Hey Jim, it's your mom on the line, he's fine but your dad broke his arm."

"What? How?" Jim was instantly on edge and worried. Pam put a comforting hand on his forearm, unfortunately touching another bruise but he hid the pain.

Mark offered the phone across. "Something about fixing the garage roof, he's in a cast but your mom wants to talk to you, she needs some supplies picked up tomorrow."

"Ok, I gotta take this." Jim stood up and looked apologetically at Pam.

"Don't worry, I'll keep Pam company." Said Mark.

"Go talk to your mom, Jim, she just needs you to settle her nerves." Pam said sweetly. Jim nodded and left the room.

...*...

Pam could hear Jim's concerned voice disappear upstairs, seeking the privacy and refuge of his room.

"Hope you don't mind, I carried on your game, I even moved you up a place." She gloated, hoping to win some cool points with Mark, he was so important to Jim she had to impress him.

"You play?"

"Roy had one, we never really played together though, I used to play it by myself when I couldn't sleep."

"Well fair woman, I challenge thee to a race!" Mark jumped on the couch next to Pam with a grin and set up the race.

By midpoint in the race and Mark was just ahead.

"Oh don't even think it Pam! I see you!"

"Who me?" She put on an innocent tone of voice before slamming the side of her car into Mark's. She laughed evilly but keeping her eyes firmly on her half of the screen.

"Oh so that's how you wanna play? Dirty! And here I was being all gentlemanly."

"That was your first mistake!"

Mark righted his car and went in pursuit. He still had two laps to make up the difference and he knew he could drive clean lines if he focused.

"Oh, no, no, no you don't!" Pam squealed as Mark over took her in the second to last corner.

"Oh yes, yes, yes I do!"

They were both sat on the very edge of the couch, twisting their controllers around each corner like that might give them the edge.

The final straight and they were neck and neck, chanting and shouting for more speed. The final cries were heard, Mark had just pipped Pam to the post.

"Damn!" Pam collapsed back into the couch in defeat.

"That was a good race, you can kick Jim's ass all day long." Pam hoped she'd won Mark over, he certainly wasn't just being polite because he had to, it was like they were friends all ready. She could tell why he and Jim were friends, they were very similar.

"Thanks, I think I'm actually puffed out after that." She opened her coke and took a big swig. "That was fun, want a rematch?"

"Sure."

Mark set up another game but before it could start he paused it and turned to Pam. She noted his expression immediately, he had something on his mind and Pam felt sick that it might be because he didn't like her.

"Can I ask you a question?" He said simply, looking her square in the eye.

"Of course." Her voice wobbled despite her effort to stay relaxed, she thought it was going well.

"Are you serious about Jim?"

"Yeah, I am." She meant it.

"Look, it's probably not my place to say and I know Jim would go apeshit if he knew I was talking to you but I've known Jim a long time and I don't want to see him get hurt."

Pam shook her head. "Me neither, I promise I won't, we're just taking things slow while I get settled."

"What I saw out front wasn't slow Pam." He pursed his lips into a fine line like he didn't want to bring it up but he to for Jim.

"Yeah." She admitted shyly, it's not like they were being discreet so she shouldn't be surprised they were seen. "Jim's lucky to have a friend like you but I promise, I'm head over heels for him. I think about him all the time and today, yeah, I got caught up in the moment but we are heading somewhere. I don't want him to be some rebound thing." Mark nodded in appreciation. "He's the best person I know and I just want a proper start, I don't want to come back from our first date into the house I shared with my ex-fiancé."

"I can understand that." He nodded and his facial features softened as he rubbed at his stubble. "I feel like an over protective parent scaring some boy away from his daughter." He chuckled. "Sorry about that."

"I'm glad Jim's got you looking out for him." She gave his forearm a squeeze making sure she avoided his bruises and Mark smiled, he had a very sweet smile, took five years off him and he hardly looked twenty-five in the first place. "And that you don't own a shotgun."

"Just... take care of him, I've known him since I was thirteen and he's a great guy, but he's not the brightest when it comes to things with boobs, you know?" Pam stifled a laugh at his description not wanting to break the meaningful mood. "God, he's gonna kill me later." He raked his hands through his dark curly hair, it wasn't quite black, it reminded her of the colour of expensive seventy-percent cocoa chocolate.

"I won't tell him, I promise, you were just giving me some brotherly advice. Do you want to have another race?"

"Well I guess if you're planning on sticking around I better get some practice against you."


	19. Chapter 19

**Another chunky chapter for you.  
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**Heads up for some mild sex talk, a couple of swear words and plenty of alcohol.  
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**Chapter Nineteen: Saturday Night**

It was Saturday night and the last Saturday Pam would be spending in the house she shared with Roy. To celebrate this milestone Pam had invited Penny, Isobel and Kelly around for a sleep over after a day of shopping. With each of them deciding to bring a couple of bottles of wine apart from Kelly would brought over some hideously pink liqueur.

With a few empties scattered around them they were sat on an abundance of cushions, blankets and pillows on the floor surrounded by candles. A Destiny's Child album played from Kelly's iPod dock she'd brought over complete with her own pink iPod. It was really cosy and Pam was more than relaxed.

"Pam, you are like the bravest person I know!"

"Awww, thanks Kelly." Pam drunkenly crawled across in her new pyjamas and launched a hug at her, knocking her backwards to the floor with a giggle. Luckily Kelly was limber enough to fall flat to the floor with her legs still crossed.

"I just don't know if I could have passed up the chance to have kids at your age."

Pam should have known better.

"Pam." Started Isobel, purposefully ignoring Kelly's comment. "Next weekend you, me and your new purple dress are going dancing!"

"What about me and Kelly?" Pouted Penny.

"You have boyfriends; we don't need you distracting all the men. Pam needs to be free and single for the first time in her adult life and she needs to rediscover her inner-sexiness."

"Yeah, and you don't want me and Pen distracting the next love of her life, you know Charlotte from Sex and the City says you only get two and Pam's like totally used one up." Continued Kelly with what Pam considered her own brand of Fem-culture logic.

"No, no, no." Interrupted Penny. "Ok, firstly, Pam's not going to find the love of her life in any dive Is takes her to!" Penny challenged and waved her glass of wine, drawing a huffy look from the raven haired Isobel. "And secondly Pam doesn't have to look anywhere because she's already found him!"

"Penny, you said you wouldn't say anything!" Pam protested, sloshing some of her wine out of her glass on to the duvet cover being used as a blanket.

"What? It's not like I told them hot Jim's name?" Penny retorted, completely oblivious to what she'd let slip.

"Jim!" Both Isobel and Kelly squealed in unison sending Pam to dive her head into some cushions. Somehow she didn't think that would turn back time but it was worth a try.

"_Oh my god you broke up with Roy for Jim Halpert?"_ Kelly was speaking so high pitched and fast only someone who'd grown accustomed to the tone of her gossip mining voice could understand her. Pam reluctantly pulled her head out of the pillows to refute Kelly's assumption.

"No, Roy and I were over anyway."

"Thank god." Muttered Penny but Pam wasn't going to revisit that argument again. Isobel sent her a glare that told her to behave, Is always had her back.

"So are you secretly dating Jim? Oh my god this is totally huge! Have you had sex at the office? Did you like totally do it at the Dundies? Is that why he's been so smiley lately and listening to love songs on his iPod?" Kelly probed at top speed.

"No, we're not dating. Hold on, what songs was he listening to?" She assumed it was the Corinne Bailey Rae album she'd bought him but that iPod still made her curious.

"So what's going on Pam?" Isobel reached over and grabbed her hand before Kelly could answer. "You were supposed to be my student as I taught you the wonders of the single life, feminine independence and not needing a man to make you happy but wanting one as an addition to your already fulfilled amph muf..."

Isobel's single life rant was already well known by the girls was smothered by a hand from Penny before being wrested away.

"She's kissed him." Penny threw it out there, forcing Pam's hand and everyone else into silence. Pam's head was getting too cloudy to fight it though. "Lots."

"WHAT!" Squealed Kelly. Isobel's mouth hung open.

"Fine." Pam conceded, swaying a little even though she was sat down on the floor, her wine no longer being absorbed by the Indian food they'd eaten earlier in town. "Get me the pink stuff."

One bottle of Kelly's pink concoction and four shot glasses later and Pam was ready. She threw back her shot and spoke.

"So I like Jim."

Penny and Kelly clung to each other and made suitably high pitched noises consistent with their romantic points of view. Isobel was quiet however and just sipped at her sickly sweet drink before pulling a sour face.

"Tell us everything!" Kelly demanded, scooting closer and refilling Pam's shot glass.

"Not much to tell, he likes me, I like him and when I'm all moved in we're going to go out and see where things go. That's why I wanted some dating clothes, they're... for Jim." Her words were shy and she just wished she could be more confident. She'd written that note to get him to come to the park, why did that strength desert her sometimes?

"We should have bought you some panties too! Really sexy ones. We'll go on our lunch break Pam, you'll need underwear and sex clothes, what do you think Jim will like?"

"No, no..." Pam tried to stop the horror that Kelly would be helping her pick out underwear with Jim in mind, she was pretty sure that would be a romance killer for Jim if he knew. She did have time to quickly think that he'd like silk over lace, something to do with his cotton t-shirts and soft sweaters made her think his skin was sweetly sensitive and he'd like smooth silk over the texture of lace. She remembered where she was and snapped back into the conversation. "Wait, sex clothes? How are they different from underwear?"

"Seriously Pam?" Kelly cocked her eyebrow sarcastically. "You don't know what sex clothes are?"

Even Penny shook her head and shrugged as if to say 'what can you do?'

Penny continued, "Lingerie Pam, clothes you buy for the exclusive purpose of taking them off."

"Or wearing during!" Added Kelly collapsing with incessant giggles. How many of those shots had she had? The bottle was emptier than it should be. Pam quickly forgot about that and sipped at hers again, wishing she hadn't had that explained to her. She owned sex clothes. She wasn't a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but she hadn't exactly experimented much, she'd followed Roy's lead though she had her own ideas but was too shy to bring them up in case Roy thought she was weird or stupid.

"You guys have got to stop now, I'll go on my own or I'll buy it online, I don't even know where to start anyway, Roy was always happy with me in whatever." Pam was feeling overwhelmed with insecurity. Both Penny and Isobel knew Roy was the only guy she'd ever been with too. Jim was only the sixth guy she'd ever kissed and all those others were when she was a teenager. How the hell was she supposed to be able to cope with sex and getting to know a completely different person? They already knew each other so well, it would be like starting on the fiftieth date when they did start taking that next step, what if she messed it up? There was no room for error and the pressure was too much.

"Pam, you ok? You're breathing really fast." Asked Penny quietly.

"Sex clothes? Oh my god I've gotta have sex! With Jim! Oh god, what if I'm crap, Pen? I've not been on a first date since high school and now I've got to date and be perfect and have sex!" Pam was almost shrieking with panic. "And, and Jim's gonna expect me to be amazing and I bet he's had loads of sex with all these sexy women in their sex clothes! I've just had Roy and that's it. Oh god, what if I'm so bad he laughs! What if he doesn't, you know! Roy wasn't exactly hard to please _if you know what I mean." _

The three friends smothered a laugh at that extra titbit of information and crowded round Pam. "I can't do this, I can't. It's too much pressure." Penny slung her arm around her shoulder and Isobel who'd been looking annoyed up until now wiped away a stray tear.

"I think I get why you've been holding back so much. Sweetie, he loves you, I know he does and I think you love him too. That's the thing when you're with someone new, he's going to be learning as much about you as you are about him, you go at your own pace, he's in the same boat as you."

"The sex boat." Added Isobel very seriously but for no apparent reason. She shook her head like she didn't mean to say that out loud and put down her empty shot glass.

"We can teach you some tricks if you'd like." Said Kelly sweetly, like she'd offered to show Pam how to make perfect crepes rather than sex tips. Penny and Isobel nodded.

"You're probably already a sex goddess Pam, you just don't know it. I mean, you read Kelly's Cosmo's right?" Isobel comforted.

"Uh huh."

"Ok, let's get this next shot of pink stuff in ya and turn you into a sex queen Pam, the first time is usually simple, no fancy stuff."

"And over really quick!" Kelly burst into laughter. "But I give guys a freebie on the first go; they're too worked up, Ryan barely-"

"Enough Kelly! I have to look at him again!" shouted Pam in horror.

"I wouldn't worry Pam, I've worked with Jim as long as you and he doesn't seem the kinky type, though it's hard to tell with the quiet ones, but I bet he's like totally vanilla. Oooh, wait, are _you_ kinky Pam? I totally have this fantasy where Ryan's hiding under my desk wearing-"

"Drink!" Shouted Isobel and four fresh shots were drunk.

...*...

"Drink!" Shouted Jim placing four amber coloured shots on the table and shoving one in front of his roommate. Two of their other friends looked on, Ollie a young fellow accountant from Mark's office and Nick, their married, father-of-two next door neighbour who had gone paintballing with them the day before.

Mark looked at it with a pained expression; he was not known for his ability to hold his liquor and the three beers in him was enough to give him a happy buzz.

"Dude, please, when has anything good happened to me after shots?"

"Jessica." Jim answered.

"I was sick on her."

"Oh yeah."

"Yeah, all the jiggling." Mark said seriously, obviously vividly remembering that night with the lovely Jessica as every last drop of colour drained from his face.

"Believe me man," started Ollie who was sitting gingerly due to 'Hans' leaving his mark on his well padded behind, "better to be the puker than the pukee."

"I don't really think there is a 'better' in that situation." Added Nick. "Though I've only been puked on by the twins."

"Can we perhaps talk about something else? I owe you all a few drinks after the whole Dwight thing."

"Seriously Jim, did the fatigues and camo paint not tip you off that he might be better than two accountants, a store manager and a paper salesman?"

"The guy hit himself in the face with his phone!" Jim protested but only Mark knew what he meant.

"We were lambs to the slaughter!" Cried Ollie. The welt on his ass wasn't his worst injury of the day. Dwight had caught him somewhere much more sensitive "But I accept your offering and more to come." He knocked back his shot. "My left nut is still pissed though."

"He got me eight times! My nipples still hurt!" Nick held his chest with a whine. Jim really did feel bad that he'd sent them after Dwight with no real plan; he'd hear no end of it on Monday from Dwight himself.

"I know, don't worry, I'll get him back. Until then, drinks are on me." Jim had already been brewing a plot involving Dwight's Trans-Am and some honey, his beer buzzed mind always led him to pranks that probably crossed the boundary into petty vandalism. Or grand larceny.

"At least I didn't get a hickey." Mark jibed but softened it with his wide grin. Jim just smirked and downed his drink; finally the drink was taking the edge off the bruises on his ribs that hurt when he took a deep breath. He really didn't see the appeal of paintball.

"Oh I think Jim's doing fine getting his hickey's off the battlefield." Said Nick with a knowing smile and a waggle of his brow. Jim cringed, of course Nick would have to have seen him and Pam yesterday, he lived right next door.

"Is Jimmy boy getting some action?" Ollie rubbed his hands together in glee. The boys were worse gossips than the girls at work sometimes.

"Bottoms up guys!" Mark grabbed his shot glass with obvious reservation of a man unsure about whether he was about to drink poison and drank it in one. Ollie and Nick applauded as Mark spluttered and coughed.

"So who was the girl Jim? Well, woman I should say." Nick asked undeterred.

Mark scowled that his attempt to distract them was thwarted but he'd always been protective of his roommate. Jim gave him a pat on the back in thanks, but he was good to talk.

"Her name is Pam, she's the receptionist where I work and she's just gotten out of a long-term relationship and she needs some time to get herself settled so we're not actually dating yet but I hope we will be soon." Jim thought the briefest of details might sate their curiosity.

"Ok, that was so fucking boring I think I might have died." Moaned Ollie, crashing his head into the table.

Nice felt for a pulse. "Yeah, he's dead, dibs on the watch."

"Oi! Hands off the Rolex." Ollie's head whipped off the table and a chubby hand smacked Nick's fingers away. Mark and Jim laughed at their mild antics.

"Rolex is spelt with one 'L'." Nick muttered under his breath but loud enough for Ollie to launch an attack on Nick's chest, "Aaaghhh, stop touching my nipples, not the nipples, ow, ow, ow!"

"Jesus guys, do you want us to get kicked out?" Jim pleaded for them to calm down. Nick didn't often drink but as his wife had taken the twins to visit their grandparents for the week he was letting loose. Ollie was just a handsy drunk after three beers.

"Fine," admitted Ollie, "but be less boring."

"It's ok Jim, ignore him." butted in Nick. "Sandra was the receptionist at the insurance company where I used to work before I realised I didn't want to go to hell when I died. I spent weeks, hell months, trying to get her to accept a date, on my last day when she found out why I was leaving, she said yes and we got married exactly a year later. God I love that woman."

Jim admired Nick's open love of his wife; he'd been secretly coveting his neighbour's life for some time, always with Pam in mind. Ollie might be right in saying he was boring but that was the life he wanted.

"Hey Ollie, why don't you try asking out our receptionist, could be the love of your life." Remarked Mark with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yeah, well I don't think _Quentin_ will appreciate that. Also, I think I'm too fat for him."

They all burst out laughing making comments that required card board coasters to be tossed and bruises to be poked.

"So what's this Pam like then Jim?" asked Nick when things had calmed down again.

Jim was buzzed enough that his tongue was fairly loose, he didn't typically share so much of himself unless he was really close to someone and even then he could be cautious. Tonight though, he just wanted to talk about Pam.

"Oh man, she's amazing, so funny and smart. She's an artist too though she'd never admit that, she's talented, really talented. I've got a ton of these sketches she'd do on post-its when I was out on a sales call for when I got back." Jim was talking as much with his hands as his mouth. "She's got this smile, man, it's beautiful, I never really got that 'light up a room' thing but she really does. Her eyes light up too."

"Are you sure she's not a night light Jim?" Ollie asked sardonically.

"Shut up, I'm gushing right now and I'm happy. She's like my co-conspirator on all my pranks with Dwight. You know that one where Dwight ended up in a box?" Only Mark nodded, Ollie and Nick just looked confused. "All her man. God, she's just perfect. I'm telling you, there's just no one else, she's it."

"Aww Jim!" Cried Nick, hooking his arm around his tender neck and dragging into a man hug.

"Whatever man, nice boobs?"

More coaster throwing ensued directed at Ollie's head. Jim answered the question in his head though, incredible boobs.

A few more rounds of drinks later and the boys were ready to head home. Nick, Jim and Mark piled into a taxi. Ollie left on foot as he didn't live too far away. Not before giving everyone slightly too long hugs and some loving praise.

The taxi was quiet until the elder Nick broke the silence. "Mark," asked Nick seriously. "You've met this girl of Jim's, yes?" He spoke like he was suppressing either a belch or vomit, he couldn't tell. That made Jim nervous being sat so close.

"Uh huh."

"She alright for our Jim 'ere?" Nick slipped back into his father roll being eight years older than the two boys.

"Yeah, she's pretty cool actually, just needs to sort her head out."

Jim wrapped his arms around Mark, "Thanks man."

"Ow, ow not so tight. Jesus, you caught that off Ollie?" he slurred while wriggling out of his grasp.

"Nah, I just like that you like her. She's so awesome."

"Well don't jiggle me; you know what happens when you do that. God I shouldn't have had that last chaser. Uuuughhhhgg."

It was just gone 1am when Mark and Jim waved goodbye to Nick and tumbled into their house.

"I should call Pam." Declared Jim picking up the phone in the living room.

"What? No, that's a bad idea. You shouldn't do that." Mark snatched the phone away.

"Hey! I was using that!" Jim was swaying on the spot but so was Mark.

"It's 1am, go to bed." Mark pointed towards the stairs.

"You're not my mom, I wanna call my gir- I wanna call Pam."

"I am your mom now go to bed." He scolded.

"Nuh-uh. Phone Mark." he held out his hand and steadied himself against the living room door.

"She'll be sleeping."

"Not when the phone wakes her up." Jim reasoned.

"Jim, you're drunk, I'm drunk, drunk people and phones don't mix. Remember Sophie?"

Jim laughed. "Yep, I sang her a song on her voicemail."

"And which one was that?"

"Fatbottomed Girls." Jim should have been looking remorseful but he actually thought that was hilarious.

"And what happened next?"

"She dumped me."

"Do you want that to happen to you and Pam?" Mark was talking to him like a child.

"No. But I won't sing I promise, I just wanna tell her stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Thaeylvr"

"What?"

"Nothing. Gimme the phone." Jim lunged and pushed Mark back on to the couch and landed squarely on top of him. Mark was as tall as Jim so could keep the phone out of reach.

"Jim! No! You'll regret this!" They continued to wrestle both grunting in pain as they clashed with each other's bruises.

"I won't, I need to speak to her."

"NO! It's for your own good!" They crashed down on to the floor with Mark lying completely on top of Jim. "Ugh, jiggling."

Jim stopped moving, his hand still clasped around Mark's wrist. "You gonna be sick?"

"Nah, I'm alright." he took a deep breath which was slightly unnerving considering Jim was still beneath him. "Stop wrestling now?"

"Sure."

Mark sat up but with still sat astride Jim so he was pinned down while he tried to render the phone inoperable for the night by removing the batteries. This, however, was a tricky task with reduced motor skills.

"Mark, you can get off me now. I'm pretty sure once a minute passes this counts as a gay experience."

"Yeah, well you'd love a piece of me, now shut up while I stop you fucking up your relationship."

"Fine."

Jim gave in, laid back and closed his eyes. Well, it wasn't a conscious decision, just something his eyes had to do and the darkness came. It didn't last long when a screeching ringing sound woke him up again. Mark was still sat on top of him holding the phone.

"You're ringing." Mark said to the phone.

"Answer it, could be an emergency. Or Nick."

"Yeah. Hello?... Seriously?... You're drunk too? ... No, come on, do you know what I've done to stop this, I'm sat on top of him!... Yes! Wait... God, Jim said the same thing... like hive minds... yeah, fine... but don't come crying to me in the morning, I tried to stop this! Yeah, yeah, he's right here."

"Who is it?"

"Pam. She's drunk too."


	20. Chapter 20

**Here's the phone call.  
**

**Warnings for sex talk, a swear or two and drunkeness.  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Twenty: Early hours of Sunday Morning.**

Mark clumsily climbed off Jim and head to bed. Jim remained laying on the floor by the couch as it was remarkably comfortable being stretched out on the hard surface, especially as his roommate wasn't sitting on his crotch anymore. He lay there goofily grinning, he'd gotten what he wanted; he just wanted to hear her voice, it made him feel like she was his already.

"Hey you." He drawled in his sexiest voice into the phone. Well, he thought it was sexy.

"Hey you indeed." She purred back, sending sparks of excitement into Jim's belly. "How was your night?"

"Great. I told my friends about you."

"Really? What did you say?"

"That you're amazing and you light up the room." He said proudly and unembarrassed.

"Really?" He bet she was playing with her necklace right now; he was going to buy her one from him soon.

"Yeah, you are amazing."

"You are too."

"How was your night?"

"Good, great, nice. The girls gave me some advice and made me feel better about some stuff. I told them about you too."

"What did you say?"

"That you were amazing and a great kisser."

"Thanks, that was a pretty awesome kiss outside wasn't it?" he drawled happily before another thought popped into his head. "Why'd you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Why'd you kiss me like that? You won't let me ask you out. I can wait but I'm confused."

"I dunno, you smelt really good and I wanted to. I wanted you." The way she said those last three words made him sigh heavily and wish he hadn't drunk as much as he did because he'd drive over to see her right now. His body wasn't drunk enough not to react and he didn't want to stop it, it felt too good.

"I want you too." His voice was low and desirous, she sighed in response as well which made him feel like he was high.

"You know you're hot right."

"Oh I am, am I?"

"Yep, we had a vote to make it official. Three to one."

"Who was the one?"

"Kelly."

"I can live with that." They both laughed quietly.

"They're all asleep now." Pam whispered.

"Me too." He whispered back.

"You're sleep talking?"

"Yup. I'm dreaming about you calling me up and telling me you think I'm hot and you want me."

"Nice dream." He could tell she was smiling as she spoke, that light up the room smile.

"I've liked you since forever Pam. I've always thought that you were sexy and beautiful." This time he wasn't stuttering.

"Thanks. I hope you always think that. I'm shopping online while we talk to make sure you do."

"Whatcha buying?"

"Stuff. So what do you think is sexy?"

"The way you lick your yoghurt lid." He said without hesitation. "Shouldn't be allowed to do that in public, Pam." He admonished. Lunch break at work was not the time to be picturing her  
tongue licking somewhere else.

"I'll only do it when you're watching then."

Jim made a noise that was half way between a grunt and a groan making Pam giggle seductively into the phone. That sound alone would have undone him a few weeks previous.

"You are so sexy, Pam." He almost growled.

"Yeah right."

"You are. I'll take a vote. It's unam- uni- everyone said yes." Pam laughed again before taking what sounded like a sip of drink. "Are you still drinking?"

"Little bit. I have water here too but this pink stuff grows on you."

"Mark doesn't think this was a good idea. He sat on me." He practically pouted.

"Did you like it?"

"No, wished it was you."

"Me too, I've thought about it. I wish you were here."

"Me too, so much. Did you ever think about me before last week?" It was a question he'd wondered about for the last few years, whether she'd seen him in that light.

"Maybe a few times." She admitted flirtatiously.

"Tell me." His voice was low again and his body felt like it was humming, he hoped hers was too.

"Remember how you used to come behind my desk to look at things on my computer?"

"Until Roy threatened to kick my ass." That was a bitter memory, he stopped risking it then.

"Yeah, well, there was one time when I was showing you Christmas presents I was keeping under my desk and we were both crouched down on our heels and you lost your balance and grabbed on to my thigh. I kinda had a recurring dream about that for a couple of weeks when that was the start of something."

"What kind of something? A relationship?"

"No, something more... sensual. And sweaty. But we had to be quiet because we only had everyone's lunch break and we stayed under my desk touching each other. It was really good."

Jim shut his eyes tight and he wanted to know more detail. He'd never heard her sound like that before.

"Will you tell me about it? I can tell you my version too; I wanted you back then too." He had several fantasies stemming from that moment; it had fuelled him for weeks. He could remember how warm she felt under his touch to this day.

"One day I'll tell you but I'm not all that alone at the moment. I wish I was. I want you to know. I can't stop thinking about you."

"Damn." The curses in his head were considerably worse.

"I know. Thank you for waiting for me."

"I've waited this long, I'd do anything for you Pam."

Pam stayed silent.

"Pam? You still there?"

"Yeah, I am, that was just really, really sweet. I wonder if I deserve you."

"Pam, I hardly deserve you. I'm frightened I'm going to fuck this up by saying the wrong thing or you'll see how much of a dork I really am."

"I like dorks."

"Yeah, but there's so much you don't know about me Pam. I mean I'm not all that experienced when it comes to relationships, they've all fizzled out eventually, what if I can't do this?"

"You can. I don't care about the other stuff; I know you and I want to know more." She said firmly, she really believed in this, at least Jim felt like she did. His head was swimming.

"Will you love me then?" He wasn't really aware of what he'd said but Pam wasn't either.

"Yes."

"Ok." It was all he needed to hear.

"Hey Jim?"

"Yeah?"

"You know where I was when I first heard that song?"

"Where were you?"

"In the tub."

"Naked?"

"Naked." She emphasised in her sexiest voice, knowing exactly what she was saying and enjoying the power she held.

"Wow." The mental image in his head was driving him crazy and he was aching to be touched. "Come over."

_"Pam, who are you on the phone to?"_

"Who's that?" He'd forgotten Pam wasn't alone.

"Just Isobel, hold on a sec. _It's Jim."_

_"No, no, no Pam, you're drunk, did you call him or did he call you? Why did you say naked?"_

_"He's drunk too, it's fine, I just told him he's hot." _Pam giggled again.

There was a muffled rustling sound and a new voice appeared on the end of the phone.

"Hi Jim."

"Isobel, I presume?" Jim thought he was being ever-so witty. Though in his current condition it felt a little weird to be talking to Pam's friend.

"Yeah. Pam's really drunk and she's a chatty drunk so I need you to forget what she's said and go to bed yourself, ok?"

"Yes maam. Can I say goodbye?"

"Ok, but make it quick."

The phone was passed back to Pam.

"Sorry, she's really bossy."

"That's ok, at least she didn't sit on your boy parts."

"I don't have those."

"Girl parts then. I better go to bed, the floor is moving around a bit."

"I thought you weren't a big drinker."

"Yeah, I got carried away, half price shots with beers and Ollie was there and he always makes sure the drinks keep coming. I also owed them big time for what Dwight did, he's really mean. It was fun night though, talking to you was my favourite part."

"Mine too. I'll see you on Monday."

"Goodnight my beautiful Pam."

"Goodnight my hot Jim."

_"Oh dear god, you're a lost cause honey."_

The phone line fell silent.

* * *

**Frequency of my updates might dip a bit because I've got family stuff for little over a week soon so I won't get my morning writing sessions. I'm going to keep writing wh****en**** I can but don't freak out if I miss a day or two. **


	21. Chapter 21

**It's the morning after the night before...**

**I hope you're all still enjoying this story, we're only a couple of chapters away from a change in gear for our couple. Moving in day for Pam is going to take longer to write than usual because there's a couple of things I need to achieve so there might be a small break depending on how much time I get to write. **

* * *

**Chapter Twenty One: Sunday Afternoon**

Pam held on to her stomach as the next wave of nausea hit. She'd been holed up in the bathroom for the last hour. It had been a long time since she'd ever felt that ill and she knew it was her own doing. As much fun as it was, she'd never drink like that again. She'd certainly never drink anything Kelly had brought on the basis of colour.

There was a light knocking that sounded more like thunder at the door. Penny's delicate voice came from behind it.

"You ok Pam?"

Pam could only respond with the sound of vomiting as the nausea overcame her.

"Ok sweetie, I've left some water, some peppermint tea and some pills just outside the door. Ryan picked up Kelly and Isobel is still sleeping in your bed, ok?"

"O-ok." It was the only word she trusted out of her mouth.

"Call me when you feel better. Love you sis." Penny couldn't help let a small titter of laughter escape.

"Uuuugghhhh..."

...*...

Jim was dead. Actually, death would feel better than this. Jim was painfully alive. His body felt like it was rocking side to side and he couldn't make it stop.

"Jim, get your ass off the floor." Groaned a familiar voice in hushed tones. Jim didn't need to open his eyes, he knew who it was and there was too much daylight on the other side of his  
eyelids.

"I'm busy."

"Yeah, I can tell."

"Why am I rocking?"

"Because I'm poking you with my foot."

"Oh." He thought for a moment. This was better than his first assumption that he was on a boat. "Can you stop?"

"I wanna sit down. I don't feel well." Mark continued poking his foot into Jim's shoulder.

"Then sit."

"You're in the way."

"Move the couch." It seemed logical; he just wanted the conversation to end.

Mark made a gruffly noise and poked him hard in the ribs. Jim moved suddenly, almost crashing his head into the coffee table.

"Shit man, I'll move, I'll move." Jim managed to clamber onto the couch.

"Why'd we drink so much?"

"Because I wanted you to forgive me for the Dwight massacre. I may have made things worse."

"Nah, I had fun, well, Ollie did show me where that paintball hit when we were in the bathroom." He shuddered inside. "Why don't I ever get drinking amnesia?"

They sat side by side, making sure to speak quietly and with as little movement as possible in their delicate conditions.

"God, I didn't even drink that much, I'm getting old."

"You could never drink that much anyway. I still don't get the macho thing of being able to hold your liquor anyway, it's cheaper to get sloshed my way."

"True, you're a cheap date." Jim laughed but soon stopped when his stomach flipped. "I needed a little blow out though, I've been wound up lately, it was good to let loose."

"It was fun. I think Nick missus is going to freak out when she sees the state of Nick though, his chest was a mess."

"I think by turning them into flowers made them better though. Where did you find those felt tip pens?"

"They have a whole kit of kids stuff behind the bar for when they do family stuff. We did raise a few eyebrows when all four of us marched into the bathroom."

"Well, it wouldn't have made sense to have Nick topless in the bar."

"Ollie's balls, Nick's nipples and no women, a typical Mark night out."

"Well at least we didn't do anything stupid, well, stupid with consequences." Jim dared to crack open his eyes for the first time. Mark hadn't opened the curtains and was sat beside him  
with sunglasses on. What he wasn't expecting to see was the cheesy, self-satisfied grin on his face.

"So how was Pam when you spoke to her last night?" He was looking straight at Jim; he wasn't going to miss that reaction.

"I spoke to Pam?"

...*...

Pam thought the worst was over. She'd cracked open the bathroom door and tried sipping at the cold peppermint tea her sister had made. She wasn't going to stray too far from the bathroom so she curled up against the wall in the hallway. The house was quiet but she could hear the distant sound of people mowing their lawns and busying themselves with typical Sunday activities.

She groaned again as the peppermint fought a gurgling battle with her stomach. She'd woken up on an inflatable mattress but she didn't remember getting there. It was the first time she'd not remembered a night out. Or a night in, in this case. She was all for letting go as a newly single woman but maybe she let go a little too much. Lesson learnt.

A small flash from the night before appeared in her memory as she tried to remember anything embarrassing. She'd been telling the girls about the kiss she and Jim shared outside his house. She remembered the words passionate, feel like a woman and sex demon tongue. Jesus. Did she really say that? She tipped her head back against the wall and cursed as a bolt of pain shot right through her skull.

"Hey, you're alive." Whispered Isobel. She looked a little drawn but ok. Her usually sleek brown hair was a tangled mess on the one side she'd slept on giving her a rather lopsided look. "Regretting finishing the bottle?"

"Oh god." She groaned.

"Yup, found you after we'd fallen asleep."

"Perfect." She replied sarcastically.

Isobel slid down the wall and sat next to Pam on the floor.

"So you really like Jim, maybe even love him?" She asked gently yet cautiously.

"Like, definitely. Love? Maybe, I don't know, wasn't I supposed to be in love with Roy not that long ago?"

"You don't usually get to decide when you fall for someone."

"You sound like Pen."

"Huh, guess hell froze over and the devil bought ice-skates." Isobel gave Pam a reserved half smile, still waiting for her reply.

"I wanna see where it goes, that's all I know. He's something else, Is, he gets me."

"Yeah. Well, I wanna suss him out first; see if he's good enough."

"He is."

"You know you can be happy without a guy, you're so fantastic Pam, you don't need a man to tell you."

Pam smiled softly at Isobel who was just staring at her feet like a little girl.

"I know Is. I am happy. I am fantastic. You tell me that."

"Missing the point Pam."

"I know you weren't expecting me to fall into another relationship so soon, I know that you worry and you think that maybe I'm not strong enough to be myself."

"I don't think that, I just want you to be Pam, not 'Pam and some guy', like you aren't whole without someone."

"No, it's better than that. I feel like me when I'm with him. Even at work I'm not holding back now, I'm being more outspoken, ok, it's just little things at the moment but I've made progress, you know."

"I see it." Isobel scooted closer and laid her head on Pam's shoulder. "I'm always here for you, remember that, ok?"

"I will. We'll still go dancing, that purple dress is calling."

"Hell yes!"

"I love you, Is."

"Love you too."

"We should get off the floor, my ass is numb."

"Yeah, you better call Jim too; explain that phone call last night. Thank god I came down for some water because I do not want to know where that conversation was headed."

If there was any remaining colour in Pam's face it was gone now.

"I called Jim?"

...*...

"No, no, I didn't speak to Pam, you sat on me, you wouldn't let me, I remember everything about last night. I didn't call her."

"Remember the phone rang? _You_ didn't call her, she called _you_. She was also rip roaringly drunk by the way."

"I, uh, should call her. Did you hear anything I said?" Jim just hoped the damage wasn't too bad.

"Nope. I went to bed."

"Why did you give me the phone?" Jim almost yelled before clutching at his head. He couldn't remember anything and he was too stricken to think.

"I was going well above the call of duty considering where I was sitting and I'm not about to hang up on your almost-girlfriend. She was pretty wasted though. Oh, and she made the  
same 'gay experience' joke too, two peas in a sozzled pod." He added dryly.

"Shit, shit, shit." There were a thousand thoughts a day he kept from Pam, not counting the few thousand more he had at night. He must have let something slip.

"Language, James."

"Oh god, ok, think Jim, think. Shit, why can't I remember?"

"Because you, Nick and Ollie wanted to show off to those kids by downing a shot of tequila before you left. I, however, only do something that stupid to impress women."

"Damn, yeah, I remember that. They said Nick was old."

"You better call her."

"What if I..." He didn't need to finish the sentence, Mark knew how it ended.

"Yeah, well she seemed pretty enamoured with you so I don't think you'll have scared her off. I don't think you could be held accountable for any declaration of love or marriage proposal when you're drunk on our floor."

"I hope you're right." Jim's head was pounding. "I'm going to need medicating first."

"There's some in the kitchen."

"Do you think I've blown it?"

"Nah, it'll be fine, pretty sure you can both handle each other's crazy."

Jim gingerly made it to the kitchen. A couple of painkillers, a pint of water and one bathroom visit later he was ready to perform damage control. Little snippets of the conversation floated to the surface of his memory every now and then, nothing to disastrous so far, it was pretty mutual liking of each other which actually made him feel quite warm inside. It was still the parts he couldn't remember that worried him, there was so much he'd wanted to say and a drunken late night phone call was not how he wanted it to happen.

He had to know if he let slip that he loved her.

The phone rang for ages before Pam finally answered.

"'Lo?" Came a sickly sounding voice.

"You sound like I feel."

"Jim, hey, crazy night, huh?" Her voice was hoarse from throwing up.

"Yup." The silence was tense and all too obvious. Jim couldn't dance around it; he thought he was an adult so he took the plunge. "So, we spoke last night."

"We did. Or so I've been told."

"So I'm guessing you remember as much as I do?"

"I keep getting little flashes, hearing your voice is helping."

"I remember that we seemed to agree that I'm hot and you're sexy." Pam actually laughed and the tension dissipated in a flash. Jim felt relaxed enough to sit on the kitchen chair just from  
the sound of her laughter. He didn't remember why he was so worked up anymore. "Did you have a vote?"

"Oh god, we did, three to one, Kelly thought you didn't pay enough attention to your hair. She wants to style you too."

"She'd try to put me in skinny jeans and some blazer/t-shirt combo, it's not gonna happen."

"You'd look like House."

"I'd look like an idiot."

Pam was still giggling away before letting out a small whine.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, just um, still delicate."

"Oh yeah, pink stuff?"

"Never again."

"So remember anything else? Did I sing because I promised Mark I wouldn't."

"I don't think you sang, did you want to serenade me?"

"Let's just say my song choice has been a little off in the past. Anything else?"

"Yeah."

"Ok... was it bad?"

"No." She said quickly. "Not bad. Just, um... I'm really glad Kelly was asleep on the couch because I think I could have said a lot more."

"Yoghurt lid."

"What?"

"I said something to you about yoghurt."

"Umm..."

The full memory flashed to him, and his condition on the floor.

"Wait, ok, uh, think about something else, uh... goddamnit... spoons, think about utensils!" He garbled quickly.

"Oh, it must have been good; I can't wait to remember that!"

"Ugh, it's not terrible, but, yeah."

"If it makes you feel better we didn't actually say anything embarrassing, I'd pretty much give you a pass anyway, as long as you did the same for me."

"So we're ok?"

"Of course! Even if I remember other stuff, it can't be worst than me about to spill a dream I had about you."

"You were?"

"I was pretty sure you were going to do the same too."

"Was it a sexy dream?"

"Yep." Jim expected her to sound embarrassed but if anything, she sounded proud.

"But we didn't right?"

"Not that I remember, Isobel did hear the word naked though, I can't remember why."

"Oh, you were having a bath when you listened to the song. I remember that much, I remember calling you my beautiful Pam too." There was no stuttering this time.

"Hot Jim." She half giggled. "Do you think we'll be able to talk that... openly, ever again, without being drunk?"

"I hope so; I'd like to actually take you out on a date first." He realised quickly that those words might not go down too well. "I mean, in your own time, if that's what you want."

"I want that."

...*...

_I want you. _She remembered though she wasn't brave enough to say it. At least not sober. Yet.

"I won't keep you waiting forever."

"I know. It's 'cause I'm hot, right?"

She liked that he was so much more relaxed now, it was such a change from the tension he held in his body and voice the day they went shopping for apartments.

"That and that alone."

"Nice to know you only want me for my body."

"Meh, it'll do." She teased; she couldn't get enough of hearing Jim laugh down the phone. "You're a dork too, at least you told me you were."

"Well I am. A huge one."

"Well I'm into dorks, so the bigger dork you are the better."

"I'm sure I won't disappoint then." He sounded a little more reserved but before Pam could reflect he changed the subject. "So I take it you had a good time last night?"

"Yeah, I really, really did. I learnt a few things about Kelly that I wish I could forget but other than that, it was brilliant, I'm really lucky." And so will you be, she thought naughtily, remembering the bounty of sex tips she'd absorbed. She was feeling much more confident in that respect, even if some of them she'd never use due to their general bizarreness. "What about you?"

"It was great; I think I might have been quite complimentary about you, gushing even."

"Well good, I think I light up the room if I remember correctly."

"You do."

"Thanks." She replied bashfully. "What are your plans for the day?"

"Gonna see my dad when I've had a shower, do any jobs my mom wants doing then tonight my brother and the kids are coming down and we're going out for dinner. Family day."

"Nice, well I'm going to start packing some stuff up, throwing things away and sifting though twenty-something years of accumulated trash. Be nice to have a clear out, make my new place my own."

"Well have fun, I wish I could talk more but I better get going or my mom's going to rip me a new one."

"I better get started too, text me if you remember anything funny from last night."

"I will. I'm sending you a text now of something I forgot to do yesterday. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

"Sure, have a nice day hot Jim."

"Goodbye my beautiful Pam."

They hung up as Pam's phone vibrated, when she opened the message a picture of Dwight appeared in his fatigues and camo paint. No wonder Jim got his ass handed to him, she thought with a smile.

* * *

**In the true spirit of The Office I didn't want throw a spanner i****n the works just for the sake of it. That's something I adore about the writers, they were brave enough to show us the happy ever after and still make it funny. The phone call actually chilled Jim out a bit and Pam's gai****ni****ng co****nfidence that she can actually move on and be who she wants to be.**


	22. Chapter 22

**I don't usually write this kind of thing but this chapter is pure filler. Nothing plot relevant but I rarely choose to write Pam and this came to me so I wrote it. It also gives me more time to write a big chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Two: Tuesday Mid-Morning**

"Dunder Mifflin this is Pam." Pam went through the motions as she was used to while doodling on post-it notes. She'd filled a whole note with various shapes and styles of eyes, seeing whether she could put different emotions into them. A course catalogue for art classes arrived on her doorstep that morning but she hadn't had time to look through it properly. Life drawing certainly interested her, but so did graphic design. Maybe Jim was right, she could always pick more than one. It's not like Jim's going to complain that he's got to cook for himself or won't have a car that night. Jim would support her but it still felt extravagant.

She flashed Jim a smile, they were stealing glances more and more recently, and transferred the call to Michael. Jan had been telling her all of Michael's deadlines so Michael couldn't wheedle out of them. Sometimes she wondered quite how Michael had a job this job as long as he had.

Pam sensed the door to the office open and watched a lumbering delivery man walk through. "Excuse me, can you sign for this?"

"Sure." Pam took the boxed package and set it on her desk. It was addressed to her but she didn't remember ordering anything. She signed her name and examined the box. It had a return address but it was to a business park somewhere in Maryland. It could be work related so she gave into temptation and opened the box. The first item was wrapped in pink tissue which she carefully unfolded.

The contents were certainly not work related. Not this job anyway.

She slammed the box shut and felt the heat rise to her cheeks. The box was crammed full of similarly wrapped items but she couldn't look at the other items. Not here anyway. She cautioned a glance and found Jim staring right back at her. "Oh god" she muttered, like he could read her mind and knew she'd seen something. She faked a smile and slipped the box under the desk, making sure it was out of sight as possible. When she lifted her head from under the desk Jim was already there, leaning in his typical style with jelly beans in hand.

"Special delivery?"

"Something for Michael." She lied and cringed at the same time, she didn't want to think about what she'd seen in relation to Michael.

"Was it that bad? You closed the box like there was a severed head inside."

"It's fine, I better get back to work."

"Beesly, what are you hiding?" He asked teasingly, those green eyes of his seemed so much bigger and more enticing than usual today.

"Nothing." Why couldn't she make something up? It's like her brain couldn't lie to him. She was still trying to work out how the package got here in the first place.

"You're freaking out over a box of nothing?" He asked sardonically, knowingly piling on the pressure.

"Fine, it's for me, but I don't remember ordering anything." Especially not a black silk underwear set complete with suspender belt, she thought to herself. She couldn't believe what she'd seen, it was certainly sexy but would she ever wear it? Having Jim so close while she was thinking about it and had a box potentially full of lingerie by her feet was very odd.

"Okay... so what did you buy?" Jim was still a little confused.

"It must be a mix up, delivered to the wrong person." She dodged the question.

"You were shopping online when you called me on Saturday night." He leant in closer so no one overheard but that just made Pam flush even more when his voice was low.

"I didn't buy anything though." Pam remembered filling a basket full of stuff as she spoke but she never paid. It was time to do some investigating. She put the phone on voicemail and plucked up the box. She couldn't leave the box unguarded. "I'm gonna see if Kelly knows something."

Pam left for the annex but stopped when Jim followed her.

"You're not coming. Go sell paper Halpert." She pointed to his desk chair emphatically.

"But there's a mystery to be solved." She knew he was trying to win her over by giving her that look but she couldn't cave.

"And I'll solve it. Now sit!"

Jim pulled a pleading face but Pam glared him down. He gave in and sat down to receive a mocking from Dwight for caving into his inferiors demands. It would at least keep Jim busy while she figured out whether she'd actually ordered the contents of the box.

"Kelly?"

"Hey Pam." She turned and saw the box she was carrying. "Ooooh, it arrived already!" She clapped her hands together and squealed.

"You know about this?"

"Totally. When I woke up on the couch I saw your computer on and I wanted to check my email but on the screen was your shopping basket and the stuff in it was totally hot and awesome, especially that corset though I got rid of those white ruffled French panties and changed them for the satin boy shorts with the cut out heart in the back because they were so much sexier and the others were like Dynasty with the emphasis on nasty-."

"Kelly breathe." Pam's head was spinning and Kelly took a deep breath before carrying on.

"So when I saw all that stuff I thought you must have fallen asleep before you paid for it so I took your credit card and ordered it for you! You're welcome!"

Pam gaped at Kelly unable to speak. She remembered she'd put over two hundred dollars worth of stuff in her basket, it was just for fun while she was in a particular mood talking to Jim.

"I had it sent to here so we could both see! You are so like a total sex kitten Pam, I didn't know you had it in you! I'm so proud! All those extras like the massage oil and-."

"Kelly, oh my god, please stop talking now!" Pam had no idea there was anything other than clothing inside, this was not the discussion she wanted to have at work.

They both froze in place when Toby's voice simpered weakly though the divider. "You can keep talking."

Pam had to get out of there. She turned on her heels and returned to her desk to find her handbag and put the box somewhere safe; god knows the hell she'd unleash if Michael or Dwight found it. She'd prefer Jim to find it before either of them.

She got down to her car and half expected Jim to follow but he was fortunately in the middle of a sales call he wasn't happy to blow off. Pam opened the truck of her car and went to throw the box inside thinking she could return it on her lunch break.

Before she closed the lid she noticed she was alone. She still couldn't remember what was in her basket when she finally went to bed, she'd added and deleted items dozens of items while she was playing around and flirting with Jim. Almost every item in the shop had ended up in her basket at some point. Her curiosity got the better of her, it always did, and she hunched over the box once again.

The top package was the same black silk set, it felt and looked great, not too demure but not too skimpy either, something she could picture herself in. It wasn't too detailed so she could wear it under one of her new dresses and give Jim a pleasant surprise when they got home from a date. Maybe I'll keep that one; she bit her bottom lip with a little devilishness. She needed to treat herself.

The next package contained a couple pairs of stockings; she'd have to keep those too, she reasoned, to go with the suspender belt.

She was rifling through for the next package. More silk, a camisole this time an antique gold colour which made it look extra luxurious, with matching shorts with slits up the sides so they flowed almost like a super short mini skirt. She could imagine wearing them already, a whole scenario played out in her mind where she'd seduce Jim on her new couch. She'd have to keep these too.

The next package was larger and Pam could tell from the feel of it that she held a corset in her hands. She'd always wanted one after watching Pride and Prejudice. A mental image of Jim as Mr Darcy made her heart race and skip. Tight britches and a flowing white shirt, it would look beyond amazing. Especially wet. She had no idea what had gotten into her, she never usually had this active imagination, at least she thought she didn't, but she couldn't wait to get it home.

Finding a few smaller packages of various shapes and styles of panties, including the ones Kelly had picked out. They weren't her style but she didn't want to offend Kelly. A few pairs could go back, she'd gotten carried away adding those.

Sat at the bottom was another smaller box containing the massage oil. Pam unscrewed the lid and had a sniff. It smelt intoxicating, she'd always loved sandalwood and ylang ylang. Oh well, she thought, it's open now, can't return it. She figured she'd put some stuff up on eBay to fund her new sex goddess life, the girls would be so proud. It felt good to spoil herself.

Pam started to pack things away when her cell phone rang. The display read Jim. She turned sharply to look behind her thinking she'd been caught but she was still alone.

"Hello?"

"Look up." Pam saw Jim wave from the conference room. "It's killing me Beesly, what's in the box?"

She slammed down the trunk lid with gusto. The world had to reckon with a new Pam Beesly.

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

* * *

**Seriously, Jim as Mr Darcy? I'd never thought of that before writi****ng this a****nd with his haircut from The Job/a little bit of season five, it would totally work!  
**

**Oh, a****nd the black bra set is loosely based on Sie****n****na Miller i****n Layer Cake if I remember correctly.  
**

**So this was a big step for Pam, she's almost there now. Cleo**


	23. Chapter 23

**Apologies for the delay, I've had the winter vomiting virus as well as spending time with my folks so no writing getting done. This however can keep you going, it's the first half of moving day (or possibly first third... I usually have a bigger buffer of chapters) and I'm quite happy with it. Whoa, it's lo****nger than I thought too! Splitting it though would have made it drag on for days so enjoy another 4000+er.**

**Updates won't be daily for a while yet.**

**Also, I want to thank my reviewers and everyone who's added this to their favourites and story alerts, I hope you're still enjoying the build up even though it's slow going (when it's read as a complete story it'll seem quicker so bare with me)**

**Ok, I'm rambling but I've missed posting!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Three: Saturday Morning – Moving Day**

Pam opened the front door bouncing with excitement. The day was finally here, the last major step towards her new life and the last really stressful thing to deal with. It felt real now; she was leaving old Pam behind in this house, everything she'd disliked about herself was staying in the past. A clean slate.

Penny and Danny stood arm in arm on the other side all set in casual clothes for lifting boxes and mucking in. They were practically dressed alike in jeans a grey t-shirts, intentional or not, it was sweet in a weird way that Pam would never want to emulate.

"Ready sweetie?" Cheered Penny before hugging Pam, she was almost as excited.

"I sure am! Can't wait to show you the place." She showed them into her sparce living room. "Thanks for your van Dan, you sure it's not a problem?"

"No worries Pam, my boss lets us borrow it when we need it as long as we don't take it out of state or you know, use it as a getaway car or something." He joked in his usual quiet way that had endeared Penny to him.

"So what do you wanna start on?" Penny clapped her hands ready to go but quickly followed with the question she really wanted to ask. "Is Jim here yet?"

"He'll be here soon." She half dismissed the question but her response was followed by a knock at the door. Penny let out a ear drum bursting squeak of excitement. Pam sighed, her sister was far too hyped up but at least she wasn't calling him Hot Jim today.

"I'm not answering the door until you calm down." She warned in a motherly tone.

"Ok, I'm fine, I'm totally, totally cool. A cu-cum-ber." The crazed grin on her face and hunched up shoulders betrayed her words, she was as wound up as a coiled spring.

"Ugh, hopeless." Pam answered the door anyway with relief, it was Isobel she could see through the mottled glass.

"Hey honey!" She said as she joyfully hugged Pam. "Is Jim here yet?" she whispered into her ear.

"No," she sighed, "but Pen and Dan are here."

Pam felt sorry for Jim, he'd be walking into the lion's den with those two, at least Mark would be with him and Dan could lend some testosterone sided support. She still thought Penny and Isobel would eat him alive, they hadn't exactly gone easy on Danny.

When the usual greetings died down everyone stood staring expectantly at Pam.

"So shall we get started? I was going to suggest doing the heavy things first in the van, like all my Ikea flat pack and my new bed but we'll need Jim and Mark for that."

"Mark?" asked Isobel.

"Jim's roommate."

"Oh, ok."

"Until they get here why don't we load up Issy's car with some smaller stuff, the kitchen stuff would be best. All the boxes have the room they belong to written on the top and sides and no comments from you Is, I'm organised so get used to it!" Pam fisted the air with pride.

Isobel whose mouth was still open from the sarcastic comment she was going to make closed it again abruptly.

They began loading Isobel's station-wagon with kitchen items when Pam saw Jim and Mark pull up in Jim's car. She spotted the conspiratorial look shared between Isobel and Penny who were arranging boxes so they could fit more in and hissed that they should be on their best behaviour. It really wasn't too late to send Jim away to safety, tell him to run for his life, but it had to happen eventually.

She walked up to them to give them a little time before meeting the girls. Her heart skipped a beat when she recognised the paint stained jeans he was wearing that fateful day she returned his iPod and drooled over his oil smeared t-shirt. She was very happy to see him; those butterflies were sparking up again and flying like they were trapped in a whirlwind. She did her best to tame them with her mind and work her mouth like a normal human being. "Hey guys, got your biceps ready for me?"

"Well I'm not sure about Mark here..." Jim had an easy smile this morning but she could tell he was a little apprehensive.

"Don't make me embarrass you in front of Pam with an arm wrestle." Threatened Mark before turning to Pam. "I could totally kick his ass, you know." Pam just laughed; the boys seemed in good spirits which always made days like this pass quicker.

"You ready to meet Pen and Is? Danny's here too but he's not going to mercilessly judge you and then hold it against you for the rest of your natural life." Pam grinned fiendishly, hoping that would cover up how literal she was being.

"Way to make a guy feel relaxed Pam." Jim half joked with a cringe.

"Don't worry, they love you already. Come say hello then I'll send you off to load up Dan's van with some heavy stuff. Save you from over exposure."

"Sounds like a plan."

Pam planted a quick kiss on Jim's clean shaven cheek and walked them over to Penny and Isobel who were pretending to be busy in the car so they didn't have to go back inside and allow Pam to sneak Jim in unnoticed. It was transparent but Pam didn't mind, she'd be just as curious after the last few weeks.

"Pen, Is. This is Jim and his roommate Mark." Pam felt her palms sweat like someone had turned on a tap; her feet felt the same too, like she'd walked through a puddle though it hadn't rained all week. Her two friends seemed to eye Jim up from his worn out sneakers to the top of his shaggy head. She stared daggers at them hoping they'd stop but they ignored her. Penny was almost theatrical in the way she studied him, she wanted to make a point.

"Hi, nice to finally meet you." Jim choked out; he must have felt their gaze and tensed up, it was so obvious. She could see how badly he wanted to rub at the back of his neck or shove his hands in his pockets. Mark said hello too before falling under the observation of Isobel's milky brown eyes. She'd always believed that you could judge a person by the company they keep so she was giving him the once over too. Mark looked more nervous than Jim but he smiled as sweetly as he could.

Penny's assessment ended with a radiant smile. "Nice to meet you too, Jim. I've heard great things about you."

"Well I guess you know how bad Dwight is otherwise you'd think I was sadist."

Both Penny and Isobel laughed a little but stood firm, especially Isobel who'd turned her attention back to Jim from his tall, skinny friend. She wished they'd be a little less intimidating but there was not a lot she could do as they were ignoring the pleading in her eyes. Jim was looking a little worried.

"Well if even half the stuff Pam says is true then he had it coming and you're doing a public service. I liked the vending machine prank best, the nickels were inspired. I never had Pam's wild imagination, always had my head in a text book when we were kids."

Penny was still in her first year working as a pharmacist, she'd always wanted to be one for some strange reason. Not many young girls went from wanting to be a ballerina one month to a chemist the next. Must have been the chemistry set their parents had bought one Christmas, the same year Pam got her first set of professional water colours and a couple of canvases.

"Well maybe if I'd spent more time with my head in a chemistry book I wouldn't be just a receptionist."

"And soon to be world renowned artist. At least Scranton renowned artist." Jim leapt to her defence. "Have you picked which classes you're gonna do yet?" Pam noticed that he scored point with the girls that he wouldn't let her beat herself up about her job as well as her dreams. It was a bad habit she'd have to stop, but self deprecation was like a reflex to her. Isobel even gave him a nod which was high-praise coming from her.

"I'm caught between a mixed media class and graphic design, not sure which way to go."

"Those sound awesome Pam." Said Isobel warmly in contrast to her stern exterior.

"You can always do both." Jim suggested. The two women made noises of agreement. She hadn't told them about the classes but they didn't seem to mind as long as they got the outcome they wanted.

"But that'll be two nights out of the week plus homework."

"So? There's five left and it's not like the classes are four hours long. You should go for it Pam, there's nothing to stop you."

"Better do it now before you have really tall babies to take care of Pam." Penny chided with a glint in her eye. Mark and Isobel sniggered to each other; they were enjoying watching the younger sister making them uncomfortable, Jim and Pam tried to find solace by staring at each other's knee caps. Pam never expected the conversation to turn to her; she was expecting Jim to get the fifth degree.

"Fine, I'll go for it but no whining when I'm busy all the time, now can we please get moving!"

"Yes maam." Said Jim and Mark simultaneously making Isobel and Penny giggle more this time.

"Wow, she's got you two well trained." Said Isobel smirking.

"I'm my own man, just a man for hire today." Retorted Mark proudly at Isobel.

"What's your price?" She sparred in return, turning herself to look him in the eye.

"Chinese takeout." He shrugged. "Probably could have asked for more but I like Pam so I'm going cheap."

"That's very nice of you, but I'm getting takeout _and wine_."

"Wow, some booze too? You're tough!" Mark replied teasingly impressed.

"I like to think so." She smirked back as Danny walked up to the group.

"Jim and Mark?" He held out a large hand and they both shook it. "I'm Danny, Penny's boyfriend. You want us to load up the van Pam?"

"Uh, yes." Pam was distracted by the sight of Isobel and Mark hitting it off, Isobel was typically much more guarded. She wasn't the only one to have noticed, Penny had a dreamy look on  
her face which usually meant that she'd written a love story about kindred spirits in her own head and pictured the wedding too. Even Jim looked a little perplexed. Getting back to the task in hand, "Let me show you guys what to take."

...*...

Jim, Mark and Danny followed Pam into the house. Jim tried to give Mark a look to ask him what was going on with him but he was just looking straight ahead with the biggest grin on his face. Pam asked them to load up all the Ikea flat pack she'd ordered which had their assigned rooms written on the sides so they wouldn't have to cross reference the Swedish. Jim was surprised how many of the Ikea words he knew, a Billy bookcase, a Malm chest of drawers a Lack coffee table among other items. He wasn't sure what to make of that, it reminded him of the movie Fight Club.

Jim scanned the rest of the items. He was secretly pleased Pam had ordered a new bed and mattress, it felt like she really did want to let go or the past, and she had nine years to move on from so it was a lot to ask. Having a fresh bed would be one less ghost of Roy he'd have to battle in his own mind. He'd never feel right sleeping, let alone doing anything else in the bed that they'd shared.

He was meant to be listening to Pam's instructions but instead he was just staring. She looked gorgeous today in yoga-style pants and a skinny fit t-shirt, both looked brand new. Her hair was tied up in a high pony tail which swung hypnotically as she talked. It was also the first time he'd relaxed in the slightest since arriving. He knew he'd be meeting two of the most important in Pam's life today and Mark had already had to calm him down three times that morning. Everything they'd said was pleasant but the scrutiny they'd put him under with their eyes alone scared the bejesuses out of him. He hoped he'd impressed but he knew that they were fiercely protective of Pam, just like he'd been for so many years.

Pam eventually left them to their own devices and they loaded up the van with Danny.

"The girls give you _The Treatment_?" asked Danny gravely while lifting one end of a large closet while Jim and Mark grabbed the other. Danny did have them beaten in the muscle stakes, even if you put the two of them together. Jim considered joining a gym.

"It has a name?"

"Yep, put the fear of God into me."

"Well I certainly feel like they'd skin me alive if I make one false move."

"But they didn't so I think they like you. Penny's been championing you for a while; she never really got on with Roy."

"Really?" Jim tried to speak as normally as he could but manoeuvring down the stairs with something heavy at the same time was tricky.

"Yeah, I thought I was a pretty romantic guy but you could teach me a thing or two. Penny likes that kinda thing, little details." Jim was pleasantly surprised to hear bald headed Danny describe himself as romantic, Pam had mentioned that he was sweeter than he looked but he didn't anticipate romantic. It also occurred to him that he'd been talked about. All of their office escapades dissected and judged by Pam and whoever she'd confided in. Jim felt on the back foot again, how much did Danny know?

"Guys, I've got a foot of closet under my ribs." Butted in Mark who was getting pinned against a wall.

"Sorry mate." Said Danny as he freed Mark.

"So what can I expect next as part of _The Treatment_?" Jim emphasised the last two words much like Danny had.

"Well, I had Kelly too; she's bad but not as scary as Isobel was."

"I don't know." Mark objected mildly. "She seemed nice."

Danny raised an intrigued eyebrow at Jim, questioning what Mark had just said. The skinny accountant was moving backwards out the door and watching his step to notice their exchanged looks.

Before they could carry on with their conversation they'd carried the closet outside to where the girls were finishing packing Isobel's car. He'd known Mark long enough to tell when he liked a girl. It had been a while, but it was obvious he liked her, his heart took a lot of healing.

They continued packing up the van with Penny's help and watchful eye. Pam and Isobel had gone to the apartment to unload so it was just the four of them. They spent their time chatting as they loaded Pam's belongings, Mark and Danny bonded over their obsession with Ducati motorcycles and Jim told them about a prank he and Pam were planning for next week. They were all getting along great; Danny had even offered to teach them boxing at the gym where he worked part-time. Jim tried to slip in as many nice things as he could about Pam so Penny would like him but he didn't want to try too hard, he had a feeling Pam's sister would see right through him. It was a little stressful but Mark and Danny were helping keep Penny distracted when she started sizing Jim up again.

It wasn't long before Penny had him cornered alone when Jim ventured for drinks. He knew she'd want to talk to him alone but at least they had the last hour to get through some small talk first, just knowing that Penny and Pam had matching pyjamas with bunny tails when they were five and three made being in her company much more familiar and less intimidating.

"Hey Jim."

"Hey Penny, do you want a drink too?"

"I'm good, brought my smoothies with me." Penny smiled brightly a waved a bottle of sludge coloured liquid which Jim was sure was very healthy and would make her live longer but it turned Jim's stomach to look at the stuff. "So what did you think of Roy?"

Jim wasn't expecting that as an opening question. Or any question.

"Uh... ah... I don't..." He wasn't sure what she was expecting him to say but he remembered Danny had said she didn't think much of him even though he'd been one ring short of a brother-in-law for close to a decade.

"I want you to be honest."

"Pam liked him, well, loved him... once."

"Jim." She used a tone that told him she wanted him cut out the bull.

"He was an asshole." He practically sighed the words in defeat. He wouldn't stand up well to interrogation if all it took was a stern tone that reminded him of his grandma during the summer months when he was invariably up to trouble with his brothers.

"Good." She said resolutely like she'd gotten the answer she wanted. "He was never good enough for her but god Pam's stubborn, she just couldn't see past the kid she fell in love with. Didn't help that Mom and Dad thought the sun shone out of his butt. She wasted all that time with that ass." She spat venomously. Jim just stayed quiet feeling she was far from done. "Sorry, I'm just so relieved, I worried about her so much, not like Roy would hurt her but that she'd waste her life with him and never blossom or know what it was like to be loved properly. That she'd settled for him. I've just been waiting for you to get the stones to tell her you know!" She playfully punched Jim in the arm but his body was rock solid with tension. Her last words couldn't stop an obvious question slipping from his lips as politely as he could.

"How did you know I even liked Pam? I mean, we only met today and it's not like Pam knew."

"It was obvious, it worked both ways too. Pam would call me up a few times a week, usually to complain about Roy but sometimes just to talk about what you guys had done at work. No matter what we talked about though, we always talked about you and she'd just come to life, she sounded so happy and full of joy." She almost looked like she was tearing up but smiling just a little as she carried on. "The things you'd do for her Jim." She spoke like it was a marvel. "Encourage her, listen to her, that teapot, the Olympic thingy, you just let her be Pam. I've been so grateful for you, like you rescued her though Is would kill me if she ever knew I'd said that a guy had saved Pam but if you hadn't come along she'd had married him and had kids and she'd have just disappeared under the weight of his fat gut."

Jim chuckled silently at how she'd finished her speech and gave her a crooked half smile of acknowledgement.

"She'd have figured it out eventually." He shrugged, not really sure how much credit to take and whether it should be taken at all.

"No, she wouldn't."Penny said firmly, but not in anger, she was just certain. "I know you'll take good care of her."

"I will. When she's ready."

"She's a fool to herself sometimes, most guys would have moved on by now."

"Can't say at some points I didn't want to move on."

"Yeah, she's slow on the uptake." She laughed; she was stood side by side with Jim now, leaning against the counter top in the empty kitchen. Her head barely reached his shoulder as she was even more petite than Pam.

"She's always been worth the wait." The words came out a little choked at the end as his tongue tried to trip and stutter.

"You're something else Jim, still wished you'd said something sooner."

"Well, I never really said anything in the end."

"True. Why didn't you?"

"Uh..." Jim wasn't sure if this was too much for him; Penny had him talking more than he had to anyone but Mark.

"Sorry, I'm completely prying, I'm just curious because each time Pam would tell me something I'd think that maybe you were plucking up the courage or leaving clues. I never told her what  
I thought because I was worried she'd pull away from you if she knew."

"Guess I was scared of the same thing."

Mark appeared in the doorway looking puffed out. "Danny... boxing... dude... drinks... where?"

Jim and Penny took pity on him and joined him and Dan for drinks on the front lawn before loading the last items. After five minutes Isobel and Pam arrived back and they all sat together  
basking in the early afternoon sun. Jim felt good about his conversation with Penny, she probably said more than Pam would have liked but at least Jim wasn't the only person who thought Roy wasn't good enough. With Pam sat next to him it felt at ease, especially each time they brushed each other's shoulders. He caught Penny watching a few times and smiled back, it felt good to have her blessing.

After twenty minutes more of packing the van was fully loaded with all the big stuff, the flat-pack, table, bed, mattress and other pieces of furniture. Pam was mostly getting new stuff; Roy had already taken what he'd wanted during the week.

"Do you and Mark want to follow me over in your car Jim?" Shouted Danny across the garden.

"Yeah, sounds good." So after saying a quick goodbye to the girls who were packing up Isobel's car for a second run Jim and Mark set off on the way to Pam's new apartment. Jim was ready to fill Mark in with his conversation with Penny when Mark started blurting out noises that sounded like a sentence.

"Dude, oh man, you gotta help me." Mark raked both of his hands through his mess of tight dark brown curls, ruffling it considerably.

"What the hell happened in the couple of hours that I didn't see, man?" Jim eyes darted between the road and distressed Mark.

"You have to stop me doing or saying anything stupid." He pleaded.

"I can't even do that myself, I mentioned sadism in my second sentence to Penny and Isobel!"

"Yeah, but they laughed."

"Kinda laughed, Pam started the laugh. I think I made up for it with Penny, we had a good chat, but I'm still got Isobel to charm."

"What do you think of Isobel?" Mark had dropped all pretences and asked out right. Jim feigned ignorance. "Come on, you know me well enough to know I like her. I'm not doing the little dance this time where I pretend to not really give a damn while I probe you to get information."

"Probe me." Jim sniggered.

"Come on! We've got the distance from here to Pam's new place and I've given up my Saturday to help out so you owe me Jimmy!" he yelled before his tone turned to eager excitement. "She seems nice doesn't she?"

"Yeah, you seemed to hit it off." It was only a short conversation he'd heard at the beginning but it was more than Isobel had said to him.

"I'm going to say something stupid though, I can feel it, and it's been three months since I asked a girl out."

"What about-"

"Sober. It's been three months since I asked a girl out sober." He clarified with some annoyance that Jim was making this difficult.

"Just take it slow, you've had one conversation."

"We've talked more since then and even before we started talking we were looking at each other."

"Looking?" Jim couldn't disguise the hint of contempt in his tone but Mark carried on regardless.

"Yeah _looking_, and when I went put our drinks back in the kitchen she was there and we talked some more. She's a dental technician and she minored in philosophy in college. I told her I was an accountant which is probably the most stupid thing I've said so far but she seemed to like that, sensible job and all. She laughed at my jokes; she was funny too, we clicked. I think we did. Yeah, we did. I think."

"That's awesome man. Can't believe you might get a date with Isobel before I get one with Pam."

"It'll happen with Pam." Mark reassured. He seemed a little calmer than he was when they first got in the car, maybe letting out some of the noise in his head helped.

"I know."

* * *

**Probe me *sniggers***


	24. Chapter 24

**Longest chapter ever people. I could have put this up in parts but seriously, it would have made the day last forever and you'll have been bored and all the reviews would have been saying "Get on with it!" **

**It's still moving day. Enjoy. **

* * *

**Chapter Twe****nty Four: Saturday Afternoon – Moving Day**

It had only been an half an hour but she'd missed him and couldn't wait to catch up with him again at her new place. After spending eight hours a day always knowing where he was and countless hours on the phone or texting, she had this constant need to keep him close. It wouldn't be much longer, they only had a few more things they could cram into Isobel's car.

Penny had pulled her aside just after the boys had left and given her blessing along with a rib crushing hug. She'd already been sold on the basis of his actions at the office but meeting him had put the icing on the cake. She also said he'd earned the name Hot Jim too which send a rosy pink blush to Pam's cheeks.

Back inside the old house Pam was trying to round up the girls for another trip to the new apartment.

"Come on Penny, you've been to the bathroom like five times this hour!" Isobel grumped through the bathroom door with no reply but Pam knew her sister and she would be pulling faces behind the door.

"How much stuff do you think we've got left Is?" Asked Pam in the hallway, scanning the various odd shaped boxes and lamps left to ferry over.

"Hmm, one more trip with the van?"

"Yeah, this is taking less time than I expected. More time to unpack and Pam-ify my place."

"Is it weird, leaving your old place?"

"No. I can't wait actually. I keep remembering happy times but I'm ready to move on. Roy was a bit weird in the week when he picked up some more of his stuff."

"How so?"

"I don't think he was expecting everything to be in boxes already or for me to be so eager to get his stuff out. The place wasn't his home anymore either. I think he thought I wouldn't have done anything yet or I'd be moping on the couch looking through old photo albums. I think we can be friends though, he told me he asked someone out and got shot down which was kinda funny." Pam remembered how sweet he looked as he told her the story, like a teenager again, almost unrecognisable as the Roy she knew. Pam hadn't flinched at the time; it made things easier, she wasn't angry anymore.

"He told you that?" Isobel was visibly shocked.

"Yeah, but he thought I was already dating Jim, he was really surprised when I said I was still single. I'm happy for him, he's been ready for this a lot longer than me, though he's not asked out the purse girl yet."

"I guess. You seem happy enough about it."

"I just want to spend my first night in my new place. It's like, now I've made the decision to make a fresh start I just want to get on with it now." Pam's eyes wandered as she spoke, a small gouge in the floorboards from when she dropped a glass coaster, a red wine stain they'd covered with a plant pot just inside the doorway of the living room and a smudge of pink nail polish on her door. All these insignificant moments surrounded her, swamping her with history for a moment. "Have you spoken much to Jim?" She needed a new subject.

"Not really, just stuff I've overheard, I was hoping to though. I've spoken to his roommate a bit, he seems cool."

"Mark's great, really funny."

"He's the guy who asked if you were serious about Jim wasn't he?" Isobel was playing with the strings of her lightweight hoodie, tying them in knots and undoing them again.

"Yeah, he's a good friend to Jim, very protective but more subtle than you or Pen." She teased and Isobel rolled her eyes like she'd heard it all before. "He was really sweet about it, kinda bumbly but sincere. It's nice of him to help out today, really made a difference."

"It has. You hang out with him much?"

"Yeah, recently, just small chats and stuff, we played some Xbox, he's really-."

Penny left the bathroom at last and joined the girls chatting.

"Finally!" Cried Isobel dramatically, throwing her hands in the air.

"Sorry, it's the smoothies, let's go!" Penny was still as perky as ever. "I'll follow you in my car, anything you want me to take?"

"Nope, we're good to go! Let's move!"

"Eager to get back to Hot Jim?" Penny spoke like a high school gossip so Pam promptly groaned her response and locked up before heading to Isobel's car.

Isobel turned on the radio and the car filled with the urgent yet strangely calming tones of someone talking about deforestation in South America on NPR.

"So what's next on your list Pam, new job?"

"No, no, no, no, no." She couldn't imagine working anywhere else. She also told Jim that night in the park she wasn't leaving and she was sticking to what she said.

"Well what about training for a new job? Like those art classes Jim mentioned, I thought it was cool that he encouraged you to do that."

"Yeah, but I'm happy at my job, I've got to support myself now, it's not a good time to change."

"What about if or when the branch closes? Aren't they still talking about that? Why not look now and find something more secure. You could be out of a job tomorrow; it won't matter if  
Jim's there." Isobel pressed her point home.

"Why do you have to make it seem like a bad thing that I might stay there because of Jim? Oh, and thanks for mentioning on the day I move that I could be unemployed any second now."  
Pam oozed with sarcasm; Isobel always delivered her version of reality checks with a subtlety of a jack hammer and Pam had little patience with her attitude at times like this.

"It's the truth and seriously, you wouldn't stay if Jim left, which by the way he should probably do too." She said with an air of pompousness.

"Well I suggested that once and he looked like I just killed a pony." Pam retorted bitterly. "Anyway, it doesn't matter; I'm staying at Dunder Mifflin, at least for now."

"Jim probably only stayed for you too, he may well leave if you get together."

"What the hell has gotten into you, Is?" Pam snapped angrily.

"Nothing! I'm just talking." Isobel was defensive but her eyes were steely, she never backed down in this situation.

"Well I'd wish you stop."

"Fine."

"Fine." Pam for all her passiveness loved getting the last word.

They drove the last five minutes in silence.

Pam was seething inside. She's known Isobel longer than she's known Roy and she knows what she's like but she touched a nerve. How dare she make all these judgements about her career? And Jim's too. Pam hadn't even asked for her advice, not that it ever stopped her. She was always on a crusade about women giving up too much for men but if Pam had learnt anything the past month it was that she could do whatever she damn well pleased for whatever reason she damn well pleased too.

It wasn't like she was going to be a receptionist forever, she'd do something else eventually, but right now she was happy. So maybe Jim will leave, it's not like they'd spoken about their future together yet, you kinda want to get the first few dates out the way first before you get to that part of the relationship. Pam glared at her brunette friend. After the emotional high of moving she resented her parade raining actions.

When they finally arrived at her new address Jim was waiting on the curb. It was the right person she needed to see to get a smile back on her face and the only person she really wanted to see. She leapt out the car, still ignoring Isobel, and rushed to Jim.

"How's things?" She tried to ask casually, she didn't want Jim to pick up on her irritation.

"Good, just waiting for Dan and Mark to help with the next thing. I should have thought about those stairs when we looked at the place, it's going to take a little longer getting your stuff in but luckily you've got three burly guys to help you."

"And who are they?" Pam stuck her tongue out as she smiled.

"Nice Pam, gave you an opportunity to compliment me and stroke my ego and you trample me, nice." Jim acted hurt but Pam could see the glint in his eye with comforting ease so pulled a mocking sympathy face.

Penny pulled up alongside them and started to help Isobel unload her car. Pam could hear them whispering and her face darkened.

"You ok, Pam?"

"Yeah. I'm good. I'm going to take up some boxes, can't believe I've got so much stuff."

"I bet you've got one box of stuff that's full of things Michael's given you."

"Totally, I even threw out half of the stuff as he gave it to me, like those beads from New Orleans and some particular Dundies. I kept my sneakers one though."

"What about that taped radio show he made for you? What was it called?"

"Business Hour with Michael Scott. It only lasted nine minutes."

"Probably a record for him." Jim joked rather lewdly making them both snicker like teenagers. "I think I've completely creeped myself out."

"Same here. I better actually help out." As Isobel and Penny had taken some boxes up Pam figured she could take some now without having to talk to Isobel yet. Talking to Jim had calmed her but she was still cross.

"Or you could keep playing hooky with me." Her poked a toe into hers. It was strangely sweet, like any contact could give her a host of butterflies through her whole body.

"I'd love to but this ain't work."

"So you only slack off at work?"

"Yep, that's the general idea. I'll catch up with you later." She gave his arm a squeeze and left with her butterflies going crazier than ever before.

...*...

Jim could still feel her touch as she left laden with boxes. He could only hope that today was one big step closer to much more touching. It was starting to drive him crazy, like his skin became hyper-sensitised every time she was near on the off chance of a touch, stroke or even a kiss. She'd started this day with a kiss on the cheek, it was too much and not nearly enough at the same time.

Jim's reverie was interrupted by yet another touch, but not by Pam, it was Isobel. He jumped a little but she didn't seem to notice.

"Hi there, you looked deep in thought."

"Just contemplating the meaning of the universe."

"Thinking about Pam then?"

"Pretty much."

They stood in an uncomfortable silence. Jim was wracking his brain trying to think of something to say but he was drawing a blank. He knew Mark had mentioned some facts about her but he could barely remember her name at this moment. He wasn't great when he was out of his element with important new people.

"So, uh, you grew up in Scranton?"

"Yeah, born and raised. My parents too. How about you?"

"Moved her when I was ten after my parents' divorce." The conversation died but Isobel tried to keep it going. "Do you have any more family round here?"

"Just my parents, my brothers moved away and settled elsewhere but we still get together for all the major family occasions."

The conversation was painfully stilted. Jim longed for the personal questions of Penny and her scary level of openness.

"I'm an only child."

"Mark too."

"Yeah, he was saying earlier, it's weird, we both had an imaginary friend that was a pirate when we were kids." Isobel was actually smiling fondly now. "Must be an only child thing."

"Huh, that is kinda weird. Maybe they knew each other?"

"Ha, that's what Mark said."

"We've been living together too long." Jim faked his dismay.

Things were starting to feel easier now; both of their stances relaxed and they were making eye contact.

"How long have you been living together?"

"Three years-ish, since I left college and came back here."

"What did you do in college?"

"English studies." He usually made a joke about not doing enough studying but he didn't feel that would go down too well with the fierce brunette.

"Really? I had you pegged as a business guy what with you being in sales."

"I just took the first job I could so I didn't have to move back with my parents."

"And you're still there?" She asked pointedly and Jim felt a same sweat break out on his brow.

Jim's inside's tensed. Where were the guys? Jim willed them to him, like Mark should be able to sense he was needed after knowing Jim for so long. They should have set up some sort of signal or distress call. He had no choice but to answer.

"Yep."

"What about English?" She probed further; maybe Isobel was like Penny, just less forward and smiley. Jim did what he usually did and made light of the situation, he just wanted the pressure to end now.

"It's still there, I use it every day, even right now." Jim shifted in his shoes and chose to move the focus back on to Isobel. "Mark said you minored in philosophy?"

"Yeah, but there's exactly jack-shit you can do with that unless you wanna teach it."

The sound of Danny and Mark approaching broke the struggling flow of their conversation and Jim was eternally grateful to see their faces, even if they appeared to be enthralled in a heated debate.

"Yeah, but Pulp Fiction was so much more rounded than Dogs, he learnt from all his mistakes and made everything better. He also had his muse, Uma Thurman." Argued Mark vigorously being a bit of a film buff.

Danny sighed with resignation. "Pulp Fiction was too populist."

"Hey!" Scolded Isobel, "Pulp Fiction is in my top five films, it's brilliant, sharp and I've got the soundtrack and everything."

"Me too, it's awesome." Isobel and Mark stood side by side with their arms crossed and threw challenging looks at Danny, daring him to argue back. "I think you're out voted, my friend."

"Well I don't remember this discussion being democratic."

"Doesn't matter, I'll just strike you down with great vengeance and furious anger if you don't agree." Isobel let the corners of her mouth turn up with a little fiendishness, while Mark looked on impressed. She wasn't like other girls Mark had fallen for before, she was fierier. Mark had a weakness for girls that reminded him of floral cushions, pretty, bland but you could take them home to mother. Isobel wasn't like that at all. Jim understood why she scared the life out of Danny when he first met her.

"Come on, let's keep going before the sun goes down." Jim encouraged hopefully, he wasn't a Tarantino fan so the last thing he needed was to become the common enemy, he was pretty sure all three of them would have him watching every Tarantino film ever made by the end of the night.

"Fine." Said Danny. "With those two teamed up I don't stand a chance of this conversation ending before I'm thirty."

"Thirty ain't that far away Dan." Isobel jibed.

"Shut up, it's years away."

Isobel wandered back to her car giggling away while Jim, Mark and Danny returned to the van for the next unwieldy object. Danny was muttering under his breath about not inviting her to his next birthday party and Mark was still grinning like an idiot. It had been a strange day and it was far from over.

...*...

It was a tough challenge man-handling each item up two flights of stairs but after another two and a bit hours each item from the van was in its assigned room. Pam, Isobel and Penny had completed a couple of trips with boxes in the mean time and were now back at Pam's new place. Jim and Mark had slightly pained expressions and hid that hid the ache in their backs but Danny was still raring to return to the old house and fill up the van once more.

"Have a drink before you go. It's out of my new fridge!" She brought out a selection of cokes and a grape soda for Jim which they all gratefully accepted. She noticed Isobel and Mark had wandered off to the bedroom, something about the view but Pam didn't think much of it but she swore Jim and Danny shared a look as they disappeared.

She and Isobel were still not talking but she'd calmed down a lot, especially since Penny told her that she'd made an effort to speak to Jim. Apparently she thought she and Jim had a lot in common and thought he was a nice guy and well suited to her. She wished she'd heard that from Isobel herself but it always took her a while to cool off and swallow her pride.

"I can't thank you guys enough, there are just a couple more trips of boxes and we'll be done, just a load of assembling to be done which is my favourite part."

"You're a masochist, Pam, I can't stand that stuff." Said Danny, wrapping a strong arm around Penny, they were rarely apart when they could be touching.

"I love flat-pack, gives me a little buzz when I finish each piece, and I can rock a chest of drawers."

"So I'm gonna get a display of your mad Malm skills?" Jim had taken a space next to her and leant in a little closer as he spoke. He'd certainly worked up a sweat, the smell reminder her of the day the boys had played basketball; it was weird how smells could bring back memories so vividly and she'd always enjoyed that particular one.

"Oooh, someone knows their Ikea."

"I like to think I know the difference between my Hemnes and Lerberg." He faux-bragged while Danny looked confused and Penny chuckled away. Not many people could flirt over the Ikea catalogue but they could manage anything.

"What about your Billy from your Dave?" Pam questioned with a slight purr to her voice.

"You mean a bookcase from a laptop table?" Jim said with arrogant ease.

"Wow."

"I know, sexy huh?"

"Very."

Danny snorted a laugh and shook his head. "You two are two-of-a-kind."

Pam couldn't help but look at Jim, they really were. Maybe it was a result of being at Dunder Mifflin for so long but if she'd been single on his first day, she'd have leapt at the chance to date him. That was a sobering thought but one she couldn't really grasp when Jim was looking so shyly at her though his lashes.

"We better head back and see if we can finish and help you unpack some of the important stuff." Suggested Penny after finishing her drink. "You'll need somewhere to sleep tonight and my sister does not sleep on the floor, not even her beautiful hardwood floors."

"They are beautiful aren't they? God I love this place."

"It's you Pam; it's going to look amazing when all your stuff is set up and your art is on the walls." Penny unfurled herself from around her boyfriend and enveloped Pam in a much needed hug. It was the biggest step towards independence she'd taken so far.

"I better go get Mark so we can finish, I wanna see you work an alan key Beesly." Jim winked as he left leaving Pam giggling much like she'd seen her sister do a thousand times at Danny. It made Pam wonder what exactly she was waiting for.

Penny took Jim's place beside her and leant in close to whisper.

"You still mad at Issy?"

"Little bit, she owes me an apology."

"You know what she's like, always got to put the world to rights, including us."

"Doesn't mean it's right, she was out of line, even telling me Jim would quit Dunder Mifflin if we got together, she thinks she so wise."

"Calm down, you're speaking too quickly."

"If she wants to apologise, I'll listen, but this is new and improved me talking and I won't be walked over anymore."

"She wouldn't walk over you; she loves you like a sister."

"Well she does walk over me. She thinks she can say what she likes because we'll accept she's right all the time."

"Come on, you'll have a hug and this will all be over, I don't like it when you fight."

"I know Pen, but I'm not backing down, I'm sick of being told what I should be doing. She took being supportive too far."

"Issy's a control-" Penny was cut off when Isobel, Mark and Jim returned from the bedroom. Isobel had a face of steel; Pam wouldn't be getting the apology she wanted anytime soon.

The boys made their farewells yet again and Pam said she'd be over shortly.

The three women stood equal distance apart in the living room. Pam glared at Isobel, challenging her with her eye to test her patience once more. Isobel stared back defiantly, but this was no surprise. Penny held her head in her hands.

"This is ridiculous; you look like you're ready to draw pistols."

"You were out of line Is."

"I'm not wrong. Do you know what Jim studied at college?"

"English. I do know him, you know." Pam hated the spite in her voice but she couldn't back down now. Penny slumped on a box in resignation, her blond hair covering her face**.**

"Then what the hell is he doing selling paper? You're both at that shitty job for each other."

"I still don't get why you think that's any of your business!"

"I've always looked out for you Pam, both me and Pen, I bet she agrees, it's not like you enjoy your job, you've always been too good for it."

"Don't drag me into this Is." Muttered Penny dejectedly, still slumped over.

"I'm not changing my job, I can try that internship eventually if _I_ want to but I didn't ask for career advice." Isobel shifted from foot to foot and played with the strings of her hoodie again. "I've had enough change right now, it's the only thing staying the same, I'll get to it, god, I'm going to do the art classes, isn't that enough?"

"Yeah, that's great." Isobel conceded. "I'm still right though, even if you didn't want to hear it. Do you know what Jim really wants to do?"

The question caught Pam off guard. She didn't know the answer. She could list a hundred occupations he'd joked about, Dwight tormentor, pretzel guy, sewer cleaner, medical experiment, all jobs he'd preferred to selling paper. What would Jim rather be doing and why hadn't he ever shared that with her?

"That's none of your business, just back off ok?"

"Fine, I never meant to upset you, you overreacted. I'm sorry you're upset."

"But you're not sorry for anything you said."

"No."

Penny made a noise that almost sounded like a growl. They both looked a little sheepish.

"Whatever, let's just get the rest of my stuff moved in and I'll buy us Chinese food."

Penny leapt up. "Yay, we're friends again. Let's go, Isobel, you can come with me, Pam can follow in your car."

"Why can't I drive my own car?"

Penny didn't bother to dignify her response with words, choosing to stare her down with dark eyes. Isobel caved instantly. Pam knew Penny was going to try and be the peace maker and talk some sense into Isobel. How did the day take this turn?

...*...

It took another hour and a half but the final piece of Pam's belongings, a kitchen trash can, made its way into her new home in the arms of Jim. It was mercifully light, Jim couldn't wait to run his back muscles under a hot shower soon.

The last hour had been strained; something was going on between the girls and the energy felt weird. Danny had done his best to cheer up Penny which involved her emerging from the bathroom with some light stubble burn but they were still none the wiser.

He surveyed the room and saw Pam, alan key in hand, setting up her new Ikea dining table and chairs. She had a look of intense concentration as she attached the final leg to the table but Jim's eyes strayed to the hint of thong he could see peeking out of her yoga pants. He tore his eyes away before he was spotted or let his thoughts run away with him.

"That's it! You are officially moved in!" he declared with an exhausted grin.

Pam jumped up and threw her arms around Jim's neck, pulling him into a tight hug. "Thank you." After letting him go they both noticed the others were staring at them. They'd been milling about, setting up essentials like lamps as the night began to draw in. Pam adjusted her top that had ridden up and changed the topic. "So, I have the menu of my new local Chinese takeout place, come make your picks! It's on me."

"Actually Pam," started Mark quietly, "we're gonna head off."

"We?" Jim and Pam said simultaneously. Jim wasn't going to leave.

"Hive mind strikes again." Mark remarked dryly. "Me and Isobel are going to go grab some food together. We'll take her car so you'll be able to get home Jim."

"Nice man, good luck." Jim gave him a pat on the shoulder. Pam just stood with her jaw open.

"Thanks, sorry to bail on you."

"Don't worry about it, go have a good time." Jim wanted to be as supportive as he could. They both clocked at the same time that Pam still looked shocked. Jim gave Mark a look telling him not to worry and he was soon out the door with Isobel in tow. Penny, who was stood with Danny over by Pam's bedroom, just about held in a squeak of joy until the door clicked closed behind them.

Pam who had finally managed to work her mouth again spoke in quiet tones to Jim. "Did you know about that?"

"Yep, Mark likes her a lot, they clicked. Did you not notice how they kept finding each other every time their paths crossed?"

"Sometimes, but then you and me and Pen and Dan, they were the only two left."

"True. So Isobel didn't say anything to you about Mark?"

"No." She thought for a moment. "No wait, she did, but she was just asking whether I'd hung out with him much."

"Mark didn't bother with all that, just asked me outright what I thought." Jim laughed. "Guess we'll see."

"God, I didn't see that coming. Mark's more laid back than the usual guys she goes for." Pam was still looking bewildered, Jim thought it was a cute expression and held in a loving chuckle thinking it wasn't the best time to make light of the situation. After all, he was still clueless about the tension earlier on.

"Pam?" Asked Penny with a tap on her shoulder. "Danny and I are going to head off too."

"What? Why?"

"We need showers and to drop off the van. I'll be back tomorrow to help you set stuff up, about ten-ish." Penny gave her sister a kiss on the cheek.

Pam smiled ruefully at her sister. Jim saw through Penny's excuses as much as Pam did. If Penny hadn't given herself away Danny's guilty look would have. Some hugs and manly handshakes later and Pam closed the door on her sister and her boyfriend.

They were alone but nothing was being said. The silence stretched on as Pam gazed meaningfully at Jim, setting him slightly on edge like there was something he wasn't getting and usually he could read her so well. The silence continued but Jim couldn't think of anything to say.

"Ask me out." Pam broke the silence but Jim wasn't sure whether he heard her right.

"Sorry?"

"Ask me out. On a date."

"You're ready?"

Pam nodded.

"Would you like to go out with me?" The words were a little choked but his mouth had run dry.

"Yes." She grinned with happiness mixed with relief. At least he knew what that indecipherable look meant and it was definitely something wonderful.

* * *

**Huzzah! **


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Saturday Evening  
**

Pam had just been asked out on a date. Her first date since high school. Her first date with Jim.

This far she'd planned. He'd asked and she'd said yes. Now they were still looking at each other not quite sure what to do. Shouldn't they be arranging a time and day to go out? She opened her mouth to say something funny to break the tension when Jim suddenly burst into movement with a resolute expression on his face.

"I'll be back in an hour." He took his car keys out of his pocket and head for the front door.

"What? Why? Where are you going?" She rushed to the door to cut off his exit before she got her answers.

"I'm taking you out but I need to shower and change so I'll be back in an hour." He said plainly but let both his hands trail down her bare arms. She shivered a little, she wasn't sure now if she wanted him to leave at all and just invite him into her new shower right now. She refocused; she wanted this phase to last, to savour it, she didn't want to rush it now.

"You're taking me out _tonight_?" She asked with a little bit of disbelief but in reality, this was exactly what she should have anticipated.

"I've waited a long time for this Pam; I don't want to wait a second longer." He spoke slowly and the romantic look in his eye made Pam understand what a swoon was for the first time. That thought made her giggle in her head; the suddenness of events was making her mind jump about from thought to thought like she was giddy.

"Ok, let's do this. Where are we going?"

"Uh... haven't gotten that far yet. Don't dress up too much but it's not like I'm taking you to Wendy's or something."

"I definitely wouldn't put out for Wendy's."

"What about Red Lobster?"

"Oh yeah, totally hot for lobster."

"Noted Beesly." He gently pulled her close and placed a barely there kiss on her lips. "See you in an hour my beautiful Pam."

With those words he was gone. There was no time to think. Pam ran to her bathroom, she had one hour to prepare for the most important night of her new life. She was humming to herself as she got the water to the right temperature and dug out her favourite expensive sandalwood body wash she'd gotten from Penny for her birthday. Being so organised meant she knew exactly where it was, along with everything else she needed.

While she was preparing and toeing off her shoes she realised the song she was humming was their song, Breathless.

...*...

Jim turned on the engine of his car and sped home. It wasn't until he was half way there that he'd realised exactly what he'd done.

He'd asked Pam out on their first date.

After years of dreaming about it they were finally going start a proper, full-on relationship. And he'd given himself less than sixty minutes to plan a perfect and unforgettable first date. Of course he'd imagined their first date hundreds of times, whisking her away to a secret champagne picnic, dinner in New York City, even cooking all her favourite dishes by himself. All of these options required advanced preparation and planning and there was no time.

This had to be a date they could tell their kids about one day and a boring seafood meal at Coopers wasn't going to cut it. He couldn't take her there anyway after she joked about putting out for lobster. He felt his breathing speed up slightly as he panicked, this had to be perfect and all he had was Scranton and a Saturday night where all the good places would be booked up, especially on a mild night like this. And it was Scranton.

Usually he'd call Mark to brainstorm but he was currently on a date with Isobel. Although Mark did beat him to a date, it wasn't by much after all. Jim didn't have the heart to interrupt though he was considering it, he couldn't mess his chance with Pam. He considered calling Ollie but his idea of a good date was one that was cheap, supposedly because he didn't want a gold digger, in truth he was just a bit tight with cash and didn't like fancy food. A more realistic option was Nick; he'd have some sensible ideas and he and Sandra had date night every other week.

Jim dialled as he drove, he was almost home but he had no time to go round and see him.

"Hey Nick, it's Jim."

"Hey Jimmy, how are you?"

"I have a date with Pam." There was no time for pleasantries.

"That's great news! When is it?"

"Less than an hour. I literally just asked her out and it seemed like a good idea to take her out that second, you know, be spontaneous, but I'm completely blanking on what to do now, it's gotta be special and I haven't planned anything."

"Ok, I get where you're coming from, you rung anywhere for reservations yet?"

"No, I'm driving back from her new place now."

"Well there's The Elm Tree."

"Too upmarket and I'd have to book months in advance."

"Coopers?"

"No." He didn't want to explain his reasoning for turning that option down so bluntly.

"Well, what does she like?"

"Uh, Thai food, she makes her own green curries." He remembered that it was one of the first meals she'd cooked for herself after Roy moved out and she'd been experimenting with other  
dishes too.

"Well there's a good place out at Carbondale, Green Dragon."

"Can you text me their number, I'm really tight for time." Jim pulled into his driveway, already anticipating his shower that would be nowhere near as long and luxurious as he wanted it to be.

"Sure, I'm online now. Have you thought about extras? I'm guessing you want to make this special."

"I've got a few possibilities, it's a bit late for flowers but I've got a present I bought just after she broke up with Roy and I thought about giving her... well, there's another option but I might hold back on that for now." Jim thought about something he'd kept in his sock drawer since Christmas but it still felt too soon, at least too soon for Pam. Jim let himself into his  
house, bounded up the stairs two at a time and almost tripped over Mark's jeans and t-shirt which had been shed in the hallway. He must had come home to shower and change in a rush before his date too.

"Come round when you're ready, I'll sort out the flower thing for you and I'll book you a table for two at the Green Dragon and I'll text you directions." Said Nick warmly, Jim could hear his wife's voice in the background but he couldn't discern what she was saying.

"Thanks man, you're the best I totally, totally owe you a huge favour. Look, I've gotta shower now, been moving furniture all day."

"I've got everything in hand, see you soon."

Jim hung up, shed his clothes on top of Mark's and strode into the bathroom.

...*...

Pam stood in front two open suitcases wrapped in nothing but a towel. She hadn't had time to unpack her clothes yet. She hadn't unpacked _anything_ yet. Ninety percent of it was her usual boring stuff that she was growing to hate; she wondered why she'd even bother to pack it at all, she should have left it behind. It was the ten percent she was assessing, the clothes she'd bought with the girls. Tops, trousers, skirts, dresses, jeans and shoes, a little bit of everything but without an idea where they were going she didn't know what to choose. Not that she'd have much of a clue if she did know where they were going. She took out all the new pieces and laid them on the bed and discarded her old going out clothes to the floor.

She picked up her phone and dialled out in need of help. With Penny out with Danny and Isobel on a date, as well as being in the dog house, she was left with one option.

"Kelly?" Pam could hear loud music in the background.

"Pam! How was moving day? I'm so sorry I couldn't help but Ryan's cousin was getting married and I got to wear my totally awesome and so Angelina Jolie Greek style ivory dress with these totally awesome gold sandals like I was some Greek goddess and Ryan is totally Brad Pitt in Troy-"

"Kelly! Jim asked me out!" She held the phone away from her ear until the screaming stopped. Pam had to butt in, time was running out and she still had to do her hair. "I need your advice on what to wear."

"Where is he taking you?"

"I don't know."

"Right." It was strange to hear Kelly deep in thought, but she got that about clothing, it was a challenge to her, a puzzle to solve. "Ok, you need to be perfect dressy casual, like Kate Beckingsale in New York at an art gallery in the spring with some totally hot guy who's younger than her."

Pam had no idea what that really meant and how that helped her. "So, what about that purple dress?"

"Pam that's totally Kate Hudson at a premier in LA, are you even listening?" Kelly was sounding more and more like a valley girl each day. An exasperated valley girl.

"Just tell me what to wear Kelly, he'll be here in forty minutes and I need you to focus."

"Those dark blue bootleg skinny jeans and that deep red satin v-neck top with the matching necklace with those totally Louboutin black high heels. That'll be totally hot."

"Isn't that top a little... busty?"

"It's a date isn't it? It's not like he doesn't look, I've been watching him in the conference room, his eyes are totally undressing you."

"Kelly!" She scolded but secretly she liked that he had looked.

"Just go for it Pam. What are you going to wear underneath?"

"Just my normal underwear, it's not like he's going to see it."

"That's not the point Pam, if you're wearing sexy goddess underwear you'll feel more like a sexy goddess and be more confident and more attractive. No one feels sexy in big cotton panties. Remember what we taught you?"

"Well I guess I've got some of that stuff you ordered."

"You kept them?" She squealed with delight causing Pam to hold the phone away from her ear once again. "Oh my god, you should wear that black g-string, vpl will just totally kill the look and no way can you go without-"

"Eww."

"Just go for it Pam, send me a pic when you're dressed, I've just got to totally dance to this song. Oh, Ryan says hi! Good luck Pam!"

Kelly promptly hung up and Pam set to work. She had thirty five minutes to dress, do her hair and put on makeup before Jim was here. At least with such a short time scale she didn't have days to wind herself up and freak out. She held the g-string in her hand for a moment. Kelly was right; she'd feel a damn sight sexier in this than the plain ones she was planning on. New Pam feared nothing. At least that's what she kept telling herself.

"You can do this, Pam. They're just lacy pants, they won't eat you."

...*...

Jim checked himself out in the mirror for the twentieth time in his twentieth shirt. He'd even tried to call Kelly, of all people, for advice but her cell phone was busy. He smoothed down his shirt. He'd gone for black considering he'd sweat through his white shirt with the blue stripe in a matter of seconds.

"Calm down Halpert, you can do this, it's not like you haven't been on a date before and you've been on loads of fake-dates with Pam. You. Can. Do. This."

He looked for a semi-smart pair of shoes and slipped them on. They looked good with his dark blue jeans. They were a bit baggier than he remembered, he must have lost weight recently, he turned to make sure his ass still looked good in them; they were after all his stable date-wear.

"Not bad." He said to his reflection before definitely deciding to take Danny up on the offer of boxing lessons, he was getting a bit skinny rather than just lean. He'd been skipping basketball to hang out with Pam too which wasn't helping. Maybe while Pam was at her art classes he could box or workout. It felt nice to think about planning his life in sync with hers.

One quick glance at his watch told him he was close to running late and he still needed to see Nick. He opened his sock drawer and grabbed the small jewellery box. He'd wanted to buy a present for the start of their relationship and now he'd finally get to give it to her. The other item, an envelope, he left behind. It could wait for now.

He grabbed his new leather jacket he'd bought for the spring and dashed down stairs. Locking up behind him he hopped the fence to Nick's, grateful the grass was dry and didn't mess up his shoes. The door opened before he could knock. Nick stood with his wife Sandra and a beautiful bouquet of flowers in hand.

"Wow, Nick, those are amazing." Jim had no idea what the flowers were, they all looked exotic, colourful and unfamiliar. Pinks, oranges, greens and purples all wrapped and prepared. It was certainly extravagantly eye-catching.

"You're booked in at eight at the Green Dragon, I also added in a few extras so just roll with those and remember you can always take a cab home if you drink too much. No drink driving" Nick spoke quickly like he was preparing Jim for military action.

"Yes dad." Jim said obediently.

"The directions I've texted, they are fairly simple so you shouldn't have a problem; you look good by the way."

"Handsome." Added Sandra with an Irish lilt and a teasingly lustful look. "Just like my Nicky did on our first date."

"Thanks Sandra, god, I've never been this nervous before a date before." Jim wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.

"It a good sign, at least this means something to you. How long before you've got to go?"

Jim glanced at his watch. "Five minutes ago."

"She'll be grateful for the extra time. Give her a text to let her know you're on your way, she can do her finishing touches." Sandra straightened his collar for him; it was like having surrogate parents. At least Sandra and Nick were a little bit more laid back than his parents.

"Thanks so much for your help, seriously, you're both amazing. I'll let you know how it goes." Jim turned at a jog and got into his car to a chorus of good lucks from his neighbours. A few deep breaths and he was finally ready to go.

...*...

Pam paced her new living room. She was surrounded by boxes that she should be unpacking and flat-pack she should be assembling, possibly with Jim's help, but instead, she was trying to stretch out her impossibly tight jeans and balance in her too high shoes. They were gorgeous though, inch high platforms in patent black. You could only see a hint of them but they looked like she meant business, first date business. She'd never owned anything like them before but she'd wanted to.

She'd sent Kelly a picture of the final look and was instructed to do darker eyes but Kelly was impressed with her hair. Isobel had taught her how to turn her frizz into smooth curls with a straightening iron; it was a look Jim won't have seen before so she was excited to see his reaction. Her curls settled happily on her satin covered shoulders, the puff sleeves slightly hidden. The dark red top plunged a little lower than she usually went for but it was still nothing compared to Kelly's everyday work clothes. The fluttery edges kept her look feminine and Pam-like.

A little extra make-up, but nowhere near as much as Kelly wanted and she was ready. Jim had text that he was on his way so she figured she had about five more minutes to not have a panic attack or jump out the window.

She had no idea what was in store for her. She kinda predicted that maybe they'd go somewhere like a bar and have a steak or something, Roy liked dates like that, no muss, no fuss. But Jim wasn't Roy. And why was she eventhinking about Roy now? She told herself off and focused on Jim. She had no regrets about taking this step, she'd barely been able to keep her hands off him all day in those paint stained jeans, she just wanted to call Jim hers. Jim at least would think about what she'd like to do.

Pam returned to her bedroom for one last look in her full length mirror. She turned to see how her ass looked in her tight jeans.

"Not bad." She said to herself, hoping Jim would think the same, she loved the thought of Jim checking her out, it made her feel so good inside, so confident. She adjusted her underwear, for all its sexiness they weren't the most comfortable pair in the world.

She jumped and almost fell out of her shoes when she heard a knock at the door. "This is it." The distance from her bedroom to the front door felt like miles in her shoes but she got there and placed a trembling hand on the door knob.

* * *

**I could have jumped straight to the date but I just had to write the build up and it was fun. I've got The Date all planned out and I'm really happy with how it's going to go, I've just got to write it. It's going to be a long one and dialogue heavy so I'll need a few days to get it right. **

**Advance warning that the rating will probably be bumped for the next chapter so adjust your search for M rated if you don't have this on story alert already. Can't leave Jim at first base forever! **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, thanks for all the amazing feedback from the last chapter, I really made you guys wait for Pam. It'll be worth it, promise.**


	26. Chapter 26

**This is The Date. The Whole Date. And Nothing But The Date.**

**I made the judgement to post this in one chapter, it covers everything from beginning to end of Jim and Pam's first date. It's actually longer than one of my other multi-chapter stories. I really, really hope it doesn't disappoint. The rating has been changed but the more heavy chapters are still to come (I have plans). I've never been more nervous posting a chapter, editing and proofing reading ten thousand words is exhausting and I swear I'll have missed stuff. I really am rambling now, nerves I swear, so get a drink and settle in. Pam's just opened her door...**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Six: Saturday Night – The Date**

Pam loved what she saw on the other side of her front door. He had one hand hidden behind his back which she guessed meant he had something up his sleeve but her eyes and mind focused on what she could see. Jim looked amazing in his black shirt; it was fitted so it looked completely different to his work shirts and much better quality too. The leather jacket was new too, very sexy and different to his work coats which were run of the mill at best. He really was Hot Jim tonight she thought to herself. Her eyes, however, finished at his which were staring intently at her outfit.

"Wow, you look... wow, Pam, so beautiful."

Pam blushed, she couldn't help it and she knew she was grinning like an idiot. "Thanks, you look great too."

"Here." He revealed what he'd been hiding behind his back and took her completely by surprise with an amazing bouquet of flowers. She was expecting something but these were stunning, like flowers from a far away jungle. "I know it means you've got to unpack a vase but..." He looked shy and so anxious; the hour must have given him enough time to work up a big bunch of nerves.

Pam took them with both hands, almost cradling them like something precious. "They are gorgeous, just beautiful. I don't even know what most of them are." She let her fingers dance idly over the variety of leaves, petals and grasses, savouring the sensation of _her_ flowers beneath her fingertips. She'd never gotten flowers like this before; other people got these, not plain old Pam.

"I don't know what _any_ of them are so you're doing better than me." Jim laughed nervously.

"They're beautiful. Come in for a second, I know where there's a vase."

Jim followed Pam's instruction and walked in. Although he'd come and gone all day he was officially her first guest.

"Nice place you have here." Pam laughed at Jim's little joke.

"Yeah, it's new. You like the boxy look? It's the latest thing in all the interior design magazines." Pam opened a box and pulled out a list lying on top. Jim had wandered over to look over her shoulder, placing his hands gently on her waist. She leant back into his touch letting him know it was appreciated. She'd been sneaking touches all day, now they were alone and finally together they could touch all they liked.

"Wow, you've listed everything inside each box?"

"You have something to say about that, Halpert?" Pam warned in jest.

"Nothing more attractive." He appeased her in that honeyed tone of voice that made her chest ache and this night was only beginning.

"Damn right." She pulled out a vase and Jim released his hold. She missed his touch already but at least a trip to her kitchen to fill the vase with water gave her time to regain her senses, she felt so wired. "So where are we going?" She asked from the safety of the tiny kitchen which barely big enough for her.

"Well I remember you like to cook Thai food so I've booked a table at the Green Dragon over in Carbondale; my next door neighbour recommended it."

"Wow, R-, I've always wanted to go there." She managed to stop Roy's name falling from her lips. She was going to tell him Roy had always refused to go saying it was just more expensive Chinese food and a total rip-off but tonight there would be no talk of her ex-fiancé. Hopefully no talk of him forever, that was behind her now.

"We've got reservations for 8pm so we've got few minutes before we've got to leave at the earliest."

Pam emerged from the kitchen and carefully unwrapped and placed the flowers in the vase. "I can't believe you had the time to get these." She played with them, making sure they held their arrangement, they were perfect.

"I had a little help."

"Did ya steal 'em?" Pam asked with a raised brow but her smile gave her jest away.

"Totally. From a little old lady too." Pam could feel Jim's eyes on her as she tweaked the arrangement for the final time. "Have I mentioned that you look amazing tonight? I've never seen your hair like that before." He reached out and took one of the curls between two fingers, letting it spring between his fingers. "It's nice."

"I'm pulling out all the stops for you."

"I hope I can live up to that." She noticed the words appeared to slip out against his will as he dipped his head, obviously feeling vulnerable. It had been such a long road to this point, much longer for him too. It was her turn to reach out as she cupped his freshly-shaven face in her hand. He felt so warm to the touch.

"You already have."

His eyes flicked up from the floor to meet hers. Pam took one look into those deep green eyes and stepped to close the gap and kiss him. It felt like this moment had been far too long in the making, there was always a reason not to fully let go before. They kissed deeply, wanting and tender. Within seconds her hands were wrapped around his neck and his slipped beneath the satin of her top and found the bare skin of the small of her back as he pulled her flush to him. She hummed a noise of approval and held a little tighter, letting her fingers stray up and down the nape of his neck and refusingto let him go even if he had tried.

It felt different to the other times they'd kissed; they weren't in public this time, no park, no driveway, no prying eyes, it was completely private, the moment was completely theirs.

They stayed like that a while in the silence of Pam's apartment, tongues, hands, lips and bodies but no words. Pam was starting to lose herself in the feeling when much to her disappointment he pulled back. He was still holding her when he spoke and wasn't going to let go of him for anything. It felt too good.

"We should get going," he said breathlessly, "anymore of this and I'm not going to want to leave." He was smiling but she noticed he'd pulled his hips back away from her and she couldn't help a self satisfied grin spreading across her now swollen lips, her confidence soared that she could get that reaction out of Jim, the one person she really wanted her to see her as desirable. She wanted to pull him close to her, to let him know it was ok, but then they definitely wouldn't make their date. She could wait; they had all the time in the world.

"Outside is overrated but I am starving."

She grabbed her jacket and her purse. Her purse was one that Penny had leant her three months ago and she'd never returned but it went great with her outfit so she figured her sister would approve. Jim took her by the hand and they left. Pam's butterflies now felt like they'd drunk a glass of champagne as they bounced and stumbled inside her. Maybe that was just the effect of holding Jim's hand again, something they'd not done since that night in the park, or the after effects of kissing him just like she'd been dreaming about.

It was finally happening and she felt no fear, only excitement and anticipation. She already felt comfortable with him, taking it to the next level was just the natural next step.

Just before they left for the parking lot Jim stopped and tugged on the hand he was holding which pulled her to him like a dancer. Before she knew what was happening he was kissing her. They stumbled a little backwards into the wall by the exit as Jim claimed her possessively. She enjoyed Jim's initiative as he held her in place, maybe she'd finally dispelled that doubt in his mind, that doubt she'd seen under the surface before.

He pulled back, their dark and desire-fuelled eyes met and they both shared a thought about whether making-out in the foyer of her new building for an entire evening would be a good idea. "Sorry, I just needed to do that. I can't believe this is finally happening."

She was still braced against the wall as he spoke, but she was more than happy about that, even if they were spotted. That would certainly make an impression on her new neighbours.

"Me neither. I think it's going well so far."

"Best first date I've ever had."

"Don't jinx it."

"I don't think that's possible." He said dreamily, kissing her one last time. "We really should get going."

"You mean this isn't the date?" She teased, still feeling comfortable in his presence, she was so happy they hadn't lost that dynamic of their friendship. It just felt like everything was getting better.

"So much more to come, Beesly."

Still with a firm hold on her hand he led her to his car, making sure to open the door for her like a gentleman. She couldn't help but wonder _how much_ more there was to come.

...*...

Jim settled in the driver's seat and set off for Carbondale. It would be about twenty minutes before they got to the Green Dragon, it was on the same street as one of Jim's clients so he was pretty confident he could find his way there as that had been a face-to-face sales call. He still had Nick's directions to rely on; getting lost would not be a good idea. He kept his mind busy about thinking about the route obsessively, he knew where it was but at least when he was thinking about which exit to take he wasn't thinking about what it was like to feel the soft skin of Pam's back under that silky satin.

He needed to cool down, his body felt hot all over and all he could think about involved kissing her again, feeling her skin again and this time not pulling back like an embarrassed fourteen-year-old boy. He'd become so used to freaking out when that happened in her presence that he forgot that it was probably ok now. His mind was wandering again and his body hadn't completely calmed down since the first moment he saw her. He settled for some safe conversation to take his mind off the reason for his discomfort.

"Have you eaten at the Green Dragon before?"

"No, I've always wanted to try it though; I usually go to places I already know." Jim had gotten into a little rut but dating Pam would help push him out, assuming he got a second date. Short of setting her hair on fire, he was pretty confident of getting a second date though. He could do this, his nerves were settling at last.

"Me too, it's good to try something new, I actually bought some oyster sauce the other day, I want to try and make a Pad Thai."

"So I'm dating some culinary expert now?"

"Until I give you your first bout of food poisoning."

"Sounds like a fair deal, you know I'm quite good at cooking Italian food." He hoped that would impress her, his mom had always told him that women loved a man who could cook so all the Halpert boys knew the basics. Not that Jim cooked a lot for himself; he and Mark relied heavily on their freezer, mostly out of laziness.

"You'll have to cook for me soon, put your money where your mouth is, or at least some lasagne."

"I will, and there will be no grilled ham and cheese in sight."

"Aww, but that's your signature dish."

"Man, you're easy to please."

"Not in every way." She flashed her eyebrows as Jim looked at her rather than the road. Jim loved her mischievous side, there wasn't anything about her he didn't love, and maybe tonight he was one step closer to telling her that.

Pam leant forward and switched on the radio to their local station, she didn't ask but she didn't have to. Kelly Clarkson's voice filled the car as she hit her soaring chorus.

"How come every time I listen to Radio Scranton they are always playing Kelly Clarkson, it's weird." Pam commented wryly. "I think they are stalking me with a song, or at least an artist."

"It's always The Fray with me, I didn't think they had that many songs but they are always on when I leave work."

"Attack of the angsty popsters."

"I don't know why I listen, but the ads for Carl's Carpet's and Friedman's Department Store, I like that I know those places and they're only in Scranton and the fact that their ads sound like they were recorded on a tape deck from ninety-ninety-two."

"So you wouldn't want to move to the big city with a Starbucks on every corner. Ok, we've got two in Scranton, but you know what I mean."

"I wouldn't be scared to move away, I've considered it loads of times, but I kinda like feeling connected to a place, I have friends and family here, my whole history is here."

"You considered moving? When was that?"

He couldn't lie, but he wasn't about to tell her it was whenever he felt like giving up hope that something might happen for them, those days when seeing her leave hand in hand with the wrong man became too much to bare.

"A few times over the past few years, I got offered a job in Dallas once but it was a flight of fancy. I like it here for now and if I'd taken that job I wouldn't be here right now with you and this stupid grin on my face. I'd also be selling copiers."

"Oh." Jim was expecting more of a response, maybe a joke about cowboy boots which Jim was convinced he could rock. He reached over and laced her hand in his, feeling that maybe he'd spooked her, it wasn't that long ago that he'd shot her down when she'd encouraged him to take that job at Cumberland Mills.

"I'm really happy here." He said clearly, making sure she understood why with just a look. "What about you? Ever thought about leaving Scranton?" It had crossed his mind that she wasn't really tied to anyone, just this promise of something with him, but nothing concrete. Even her parents were a couple of hours away.

"Never." She said emphatically.

"Even now? You could live anywhere you wanted, Paris, New York, Rome, Japan."

"Japan?" She asked with a little snicker of laughter.

"It would be so cool to live in Tokyo; I'd be a giant, awesome. So, would you move?"

"Not unless I can take you with me. I'm happy right here with you," she squeezed his hand, "the happiest I've been in a long time actually." Jim caught her soft smile and returned it. He made her happy. It was all he'd ever wanted.

...*...

Pam's sudden attack of nausea that Jim might have passed up career opportunities to stay near her had subsided a little. She hated that Isobel might have been right about Jim staying at Dunder Mifflin for her. Not that she could imagine Jim being happy selling copiers in Texas, the very thought of him wearing cowboy boots made her want to burst out in hysterical giggles, but still, she's just discovered another new piece of Jim's life she hadn't been privy too before. He could have moved and she'd have lost her chance forever. Tonight wasn't the night to discuss that any further but it still bothered her how this could have easily have slipped through their fingers.

She felt calmer knowing that he wanted to stay put for now, much like she did. It was sweet that he had such love for Scranton and its weird small town ways. She meant what she said; she couldn't ever remember being this content, especially after so much upheaval. Her life was barely recognisable. She looked down at their hands, hers being so small in his but still feeling like they fit. She liked what she saw now.

They both laughed a little when The Fray began to play, You Found Me.

"I swear it's a conspiracy. They know I'm listening." Jim cried.

"I like this one, Kelly plays it a lot when she's taking a one song break from Beyonce or Rihanna." Pam idly drew shapes with the index finger of her free hand on the back of Jim hand as she listened to the song.

"I can't believe you and Kelly hit it off."

"Well, she was much quieter when she first started, then she moved out of her parents house, discovered Cosmo, men and the colour pink and new Kelly was born." If anyone knew about reinventing themselves, it was Kelly; she'd been such a great friend since breaking up with Roy, if a little... Kellyish. You couldn't hold that against her though, how can you not love someone who's slapped Michael?

"God, I remember conservative Kelly, I hardly noticed her, especially as she was in annex, but then I only had eyes for the artistic receptionist." He gave her moon eyes making Pam laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you were dating other girls back then." She said it with levity in her voice, it's not like she expected him to be celibate for a crush.

"Wished they were you." She heard nothing but sincerity which touched her deeply.

"Really?"

"Of course, always been you."

They spent the rest of the ride chatting about work, the move and sharing details on what they thought about Isobel and Mark. It wasn't until they got to the restaurant that they stopped holding hands.

...*...

The Green Dragon looked amazing in the dark. It was a relatively small stand-alone building two stories high but subtly Oriental in design with its slightly over extended roof. A vine covered pergola laced with lights and dotted with exotic flowers marked the entrance, flanked by beautiful gardens lit with large candles and more twinkling lights.

"Wow, it's beautiful; you think I could do this with my place?"

Jim took her hand again like the time from getting out the car to now was far too long to be separated. The night was warm, the warmest it had been that year.

"Easy, everyone needs a five foot Buddha outside their front door." Pam tilted her head back to laugh; Jim had never seen her look so beautiful. "Let's head on inside."

The ventured inside and the interior was just as opulent with it gold and red wallpaper and mango wood tables hidden within alcoves of carved wood and more exotic plants. Candles and twinkling lights sat amongst golden figurines, ornate vases and orchids. Beautiful Thai music drifted and mingled with the beautiful smell of Thai food. Nick had recommended the perfect first date venue and certainly eared himself a good bottle of French wine to share with Sandra on one of their date nights.

The head waiter approached them in what Jim assumed was appropriate Thai garb. He was an older gentleman and unlike the rest of the waiting staff, he looked like he was born and raised in Scranton.

"We have a table booked for two: Halpert."

"Ah yes, Mr Halpert and his beloved! We have your table prepared and ready, let me take your coats and please follow me." After shedding their coats the older man strode to the back of the restaurant and led them up the stairs.

Pam held a tight lipped smile that was smothering her giggles at being called his beloved. Jim shot her a small look of embarrassment but inside he actually enjoyed it, she was his beloved tonight.

Their table was hidden in a secluded alcove with booth style seats at the back though they could still see the other diners. As they got closer Jim saw that the table was surrounded by tea lights and orchids, loads more than the other tables, and a bottle of champagne was waiting on ice. This is what Nick had meant by extras and Jim was blown away, his friend had earned a hell of a lot more than a bottle of wine, Jim would happily give him a kidney when he saw the look of awe and wonder on Pam's face.

"I hope this is to your liking?" Asked the older man, obviously beaming with pride.

"It's perfect." Said Jim. "Just perfect."

Jim guided Pam to her seat as she seemed stuck to the spot, staring at the beautifully laid table with her eyes on stalks. Jim slid in beside her and although their knees bumped together they stayed like that. The head waiter, who Jim had now noted was incongruously called Gerald, popped open the champagne and poured out their glasses, while explaining that this champagne was especially suited to the delicate flavours of Thai food.

"For your beloved, a keepsake." He handed her the cork with today's date written on it in elegant handwriting. Pam received it like it was something precious and Jim couldn't believe his luck that everything had been so special. "Here is your menu." he handed them a single leather bound menu to read together. "Your waitress will be with you shortly, I do hope you enjoy your evening." Gerald turned away politely but efficiently leaving Jim and Pam alone.

"Oh my god, Jim. How did you make all this happen in an hour? It's just, wow... too amazing."

"Well I had some help from my neighbour." Nick had arranged everything. He was already going to spring for the champagne but the extra lights, flowers and special treatment were above and beyond. He could hardly take all or any of the credit.

"I've never experienced anything like this." She looked up and saw more twinkling lights above her among purple and white orchids before returning her gaze to Jim. "You're amazing."

Jim resisted the urge to make a joke to deflect the compliment and just smiled a brilliant smile instead.

They decided to order a platter of appetisers to start so they could get a little taste of everything.

"I can't believe all of this, I hadn't planned on telling you I was ready when I woke up this morning, it just happened and I'm so glad I did."

"Let's toast." Jim raised his glass and it was joined by Pam's.

"To spontaneity?"

"And to my iPod."

They clinked glasses and sipped at the sweet bubbly drink. Jim hadn't drunk much champagne in his life, a lot of the fake stuff but rarely real champagne; he could kind of see what the fuss was about, it felt good to drink, as well as the taste. Glancing at Pam it felt like the right time to give her the present he'd had for a while now.

"I bought something for you." He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a small burgundy coloured jewellery box and handed it to her, moving a little closer to her at the same time. "It was a classic case of 'I saw this and thought of you.'"

Without saying a word she opened the box slowly. Lying inside was a gold necklace and pendant. The pendant was shaped like a small butterfly in flight with wings that were enamelled with glorious and vivid colours. Pam lifted it beneath her fingers, still not speaking but Jim could tell from her wonderment that she liked it, or at least she liked the gesture whether or not she thought the butterfly was hideous.

"I figured with all the changes recently you've been going through a transformation, you know, uh, like a butterfly." He faltered as he heard the corniness of his words. The meaning seemed much more romantic in his head.

"It's so beautiful, I don't know what to say, thank you." She turned and kissed her thanks.

"You're welcome." He eventually replied when his brain worked again.

"Can you help me put it on?" Jim could only nod. She whipped off her beaded necklace and stuffed it in her purse before turning her back to him and lifting her hair. If only they hadn't been in public he'd have pressed a thousand kisses to her neck. Pushing those thoughts back he undid the chain and slipped it around her neck.

"How does it look?"

The butterfly had twisted so it faced the wrong way. He slipped a finger beneath the chain and heard Pam's breath hitch ever-so-slightly as he ran his finger down her chest towards the pendant to right it. He only touched an inch of skin but his heart was racing again.

"Perfect."

...*...

Pam swallowed hard. He barely touched her as he turned the butterfly, _her butterfly_, to face the right way but she was more turned on that she could ever remember being with Roy in the last few years. It was everything, not just the fact that they were so close together their legs were entwined or that she'd just kissed him but the meaningful attention, the care, the forethought and the... love she felt from him. Her mind, body and heart were all enraptured tonight.

"It is." She eventually agreed when she'd stopped awkwardly staring down at it giving herself what must have been a hideous double chin. Luckily Jim hadn't noticed, he still had his eyes fixed on the butterfly. "It really is beautiful, I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

"It was for a good reason and you're worth it too."

"You know Penny is going to love you even more now." She sat close to him again, letting her hand settle comfortably on his knee.

"So I made a good impression?"

"She told me that you were practically family to her already but she does get rather excited. She meant it though, don't get me wrong."

"Still, wow, that's great, she's pretty cool actually. Penny and Dan are great together."

"I know, it's only been four months too."

"Seriously? I thought it had been at least a year, even two."

"Yeah, Penny gets pretty crazy over guys but she seems really serious about Dan, she's introduced him our parents too, they love him. It's going really well." She sipped at her drink. "Did Isobel go easy on you?"

"Yeah, she just asked some questions, where I grew up, what I studied at college, small stuff. She relaxed more when Mark was around, talking about Pulp Fiction and ripping Danny about eventually turning thirty." Pam could feel that her smile had faded and of course Jim would pick up on that instantly. "Is something wrong? Did Isobel not like me?" She heard his worry and quashed it quickly.

"No, Is thought you were great. We had a little falling out, that's all."

"I thought the air got a little heavy this afternoon, wanna talk about it?"

"Tomorrow, not tonight, only good things tonight." Pam found her smile again and stroked his knee. It felt good just to acknowledge the rift; she didn't need to discuss it. The argument would blow over eventually; it might just take a while because Pam wouldn't be making the first move this time. Both of them were distracted when their waitress appeared at the top of the stairs. "Ooh, I think that's our platter!"

Their Thai waitress approached their table with a huge tray filled with treats. Chicken satay skewers were stood in coconut shells, tempura shrimps were laid decoratively on a banana leaf, filo wrapped treats sat snugly among vegetables carved into flowers and gold coloured ramekins with a variety of sauces of different flavours and colours were dotted around. It was a feast for the eyes and smelt beautiful.

"Where to start?" Pam was overwhelmed by the gorgeous selection. "I wish I hadn't worn these jeans now."

"Blasphemy, now ladies first, I've got my eye on some of the shredded duck." Jim plucked a fork off the table.

Between talking, joking, laughing, flirting and savouring each moment it took them almost an hour to work their way through the platter. They were both feeling relaxed and content as they sat sated.

"I'm so stuffed but that was amazing." Pam licked some sticky sweet chilli sauce from her finger tips. Jim's face went dumb as he watched her lips wrap around the top of each of her digits. "Is this something else I shouldn't do in public?" She whispered. She'd remembered Jim's comment about yoghurt lids when she'd eaten one of her favourite mixed berry after their morning phone call.

"Wha'? Oh, yeah, we should make a list but don't stop on my account." He gestured for her to continue and settled his chin on the palm of his hand.

"You are incorrigible and my fingers are clean now."

"Mine aren't." Jim drawled as he moved closer.

"Now that's definitely for the 'not in public' list." She wagged one of her newly clean fingers at her date before giving him a gentle push in the ribs.

Pam really couldn't be happier. Jim was finally letting his guard drop now he didn't have to edit his words. Pam felt like she'd finally arrived at the destination she was headed for since she'd heard the fated song. Apart from the fact that her feet hurt a little in her shoes and she wasn't even standing everything was going brilliantly well.

They'd finished the champagne so Jim ordered a soft drink for himself and some wine for Pam. She planned on pacing herself with water, the last thing she wanted to do was get drunk and a little too chatty like she'd been on the phone during girl's night.

"So your outfit tonight, was that what was in the box delivered to the office the other week? Kelly told me it was clothing." They were sat close enough not to be overheard in their candle lit bubble.

"Not these clothes exactly, though I am wearing something from the box." She remained purposefully cryptic, daring him to discover a hint of what was in that box.

"Perfume?"

"Nope, I'm only wearing body lotion from top to toe."

"Mmm, Beesly," he half groaned, "such a tease."

"Maybe a little, but this is just our first date."

"Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"Well, it's like our third-first date."

"How did you work that out?"

"Well, remember my first week at Dunder Mifflin and I asked you out to lunch at Cugino's?" Pam remembered it clearly. "For me that was a date. Until the whole you're living with someone thing came up." He spoke like it was no big deal but she hadn't thought at the time that's what it might have been to him. She wore the ring but she hadn't really mentioned Roy that week. She'd just assumed he knew and he was being nice after they'd hit it off so well.

"I'm sorry, I thought you knew."

"That's ok, you don't need to apologise; I think I liked you so much I stuck my head in the sand. I also hoped you'd see sense and fall for me."

"Which I have."

"Took your time Bees, but we got there."

"So the second-first date was Threat Level : Midnight?"

"Yep, dinner, a show, fireworks."

"Danny called it an office seduction."

"I did try."

"How did you put up with me for so long?"

"I knew what I was getting myself into."

Pam understood why Mark had seemed so worried that day they'd first played Xbox together, Jim had been in deep and he'd known all along. She couldn't help the twang of guilt in her belly but she didn't want to ruin this, it was good that he was even talking about it without stumbling over his words or just making a joke.

"So this is our third-first date and then we'll have our first-second date."

"If you say yes of course."

"I think you're doing ok so far but we'll see."

"Tease."

...*...

Their entrees arrived just as they finished talking and had a little appetite again. Pam's monkfish curry smelt divine with its jasmine rice side order and Jim had sprung for the delicately spiced beef musuman.

"This tastes amazing; we're definitely coming back here." Said Jim as he tried to resist the urge to eat like he wasn't on a date but sat in front of the TV with Mark scoffing food like cavemen.

"I was thinking about moving in here when my lease is up, I could set up a bed on the pergola outside, it would be quite nice on a night like tonight."

Jim was getting ahead of himself but when her lease was up he was already planning on offering to get a place together as his lease would be up a month later. The timing would be too perfect to pass up. He kept this mouth shut on that future though, third-first date or not, she'd only moved into her own place that day.

"Might be cold come January."

"I always have cold feet though, icicle toes."

"Can't be that bad." Jim let out a loud high pitched squeak of shock and banged his knees under the table. "Jesus!" Pam could do nothing but giggle seductively as she slipped her bare foot from his pant leg.

"No playing footsie then?"

"Not unless you're wearing socks. Really, really thick socks." He lied, he'd keep them warm sockless as long as she was his, though he'd have to practice making less feminine squeals.

"Spoil sport."

They both tucked into their meal, it was one of the best Jim had ever eaten but it may have been the buzz of the champagne that he was forced to stop drinking or the company. Whenever Pam was focused on her meal or just taking in the surroundings he'd take a surreptitious look, well, more like a loving gaze but he had to remind himself that she was really here and this wasn't just another dream.

She grabbed a lobster cracker with those fingers that had driven him wild earlier to dip into her sauce. He never imagined she'd be so forward and seductive, even if she was accidently turning him on, she didn't back down. He always saw her as the shyer half, but she'd come out of her shell so much in the last month, he was sure she could eat him alive now. He understood more than ever why she needed that time.

He was still staring as she made those maddening little yummy noises which he wanted to draw from her. He wasn't short of ideas as he unconsciously stroked his hand along the top of her leg.

"This is the best meal I've ever eaten, the company isn't bad either." She leant towards him an initiated another soft kiss.

"Room for dessert?"

"Mmm, yes, but something light or you'll have to carry me out of here."

Their dishes and plates were cleared away and they were given their dessert menus, this time one each.

"I like the sound of the mango and coconut crepes." Said Pam, unconsciously licking her lips. He loved those lips. He loved her.

"Coconut ice cream sounds great too."

Jim's ears perked up when he thought he heard a familiar male laugh from downstairs. Pam was still enthralled in the menu but Jim could hear this laugh coming closer up the stairs. He was overwhelmed with a sense of dread. He only needed to see the top of the laughing man's head to realise who it was. He ducked and brought both his and Pam's menus in front of their faces like a fort. He held her arm to bring her closer so she was more hidden from view.

"Jim, what are you doing?" She asked in a giggled whisper.

"Michael is here." Jim carefully poked his head out from behind his menu to see where he'd been seated. Michael was pulling a chair out for a dark haired woman who appeared older than him but was wearing the shortest black leather miniskirt he'd ever seen. Jim hid again. "Oh my god, he's with a date. Over by the elephant statues."

This time Pam poked an eye around her menu before snapping back. She looked horrified. "That's not a date." She gulped. "That's his mother."

"Seriously? She's wearing next to nothing!" Jim's jaw gaped at Pam who looked similarly shell shocked.

"I've only seen pictures but I've spoken to her loads. There's a reason Michael is the way he is and I'm pretty sure she's it."

"If he sees us he's going to join us isn't he?"

"Yup, she'll insist too as we're Michael's _closest friends_. He's probably got a camera too. That can't happen."

They could hear him ordering drinks in the voice of Michael Jackson and shared a fearful look.

"Ok, we need a plan." Jim wasn't going to let this night descend into chaos.

A different voice appeared on the other side of their menu defences. "Excuse me, are you ready to order?" Their waitress looked more than confused as Pam and Jim only peeked over the  
tops of the menus.

"Uh, can we order something to go?" asked Jim quietly, making sure Michael didn't pick up on a familiar voice like he had.

"Is everything ok, sir?"

"Everything is fine," Pam started, taking a quick peek at Michael who was pulling coloured scarves from his suit sleeve. "But our boss was just seated and we kinda want be alone."

Their waitress leaned in and whispered in shock. "Your boss is Michael Scott?" She also moved her body to block them from Michael's view should he look over.

"Yeah, you know him?"

"Oh yeah, he comes here a lot, always has the children's food because he doesn't like the spices. He's... well, you must know."

"All too well," said Jim. "Do you think you can get us out of here without him seeing us?"

"No problem, let me take your order and I'll have your food meet you downstairs, you can pay there. I'll take you down the staff stairs so you're not seen."

"Wow, this is above and beyond service."

"Remember that when you tip, sir." She winked cheekily. She took their order and left them their menus so they could hide out for a little while longer.

"I can't believe we're hiding behind our menus on our date." Pam fumed, her eyes burning a hole right through the paper and into the skull of their unsuspecting boss. Jim chuckled soundlessly at her glare before another idea sprang into his head.

"Well it has other advantages." Jim drawled before swooping in and kissing her neck and making her gasp. It was the first time he'd kissed her anywhere but the mouth after years, _years_, of longing to. He worked his way slowly to her lips, making sure to memorise the warmth and the softness of her skin and every little murmur from his beloved. Pam almost lost grip of her menu a couple of times, it slowly slipped forward and Jim propped it back up, still undeterred from his mission that had led him to a sweet spot behind her ear. When she sighed his name so blissfully and her hand grabbed at his thigh he almost came undone there and then. He had to stop, "I still can't believe you're really here."

"I can't believe we're still in a restaurant, I think I forgot." Her eyes were barely open, god he loved that look. They were about to start another luxurious kiss when they were interrupted.

"Sir?"

Jim slowly appeared from behind the menu, just his eyes showing. "Hi."

"Hi, um, Mr Scott has gone to the bathroom, you've got a chance to escape, would you like to follow me?" The waitress seemed a little flustered. Jim wondered if their more amorous moment behind the menu had been rumbled especially when both of them emerged pink cheeked.

They got down stairs as covertly as possible and Jim paid for the meal, making sure to leave a generous tip. Gerald said his farewell to them both, wishing Jim and his beloved a safe journey. After being handed a bag with their desserts and retrieving their coats he led Pam outside before inspiration struck.

"I'll be right back, I left something inside."

...*...

Pam was a little stunned as he ran back inside leaving her standing alone in the parking lot. She wasn't cross, just confused. It was so quiet now she'd left the Thai music and the hum of the restaurant behind. She'd had a little time to cool off, their moment hidden away was simply the most arousing experience she'd had in the longest time. She couldn't ignore that she was still incredibly turned on by the man who she once saw as a purely platonic friend.

She could still feel where he'd kissed her, where his tongue had sneakily tasted the body lotion she'd told him about earlier. She needed to touch him so badly. She wondered how far she really could see this going tonight; would it really be too soon to invite him to her bed? The knot of nerves at that thought suggested she wasn't there yet but she'd certainly enjoy much more of what they were doing in the restaurant.

She planned to invite him for dessert at hers, she had a table set up even if she had no couch yet but at least Mark wouldn't interrupt. She heard footsteps behind her and Jim had returned, still holding the bag of desserts.

"Sorry about that, ready to go?" He took her hand again for which she was grateful, the wine and her high heels made her a little unstable on the rough surface of the parking lot. He still offered no explanation for his sudden disappearance.

"Sure, I was wondering whether you wanted to finish dessert at mine."

"Actually I've got something else in mind if you'll humour me." He was wearing that expression he couldn't hide when he was keeping a secret, she could see his excitement bubbling under the surface.

"Hmmm, are you going to let me in on your plans?"

"No, but you'll work it out when we get there." He grinned like the cat that got that cream. He put the bag in the trunk and they both got in the car.

Like instinct they found each other again in the darkness. Pam had practically crawled over to his side of the vehicle but Jim was meeting her with similar urgent need. For the first time since that moment in Jim's driveway she kissed down his jaw and found his neck. This time she could explore the firm sinew and drink in his scent. He tilted his head giving her as much access as she wanted.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going now?" She purred into his ear before licking at his earlobe.

He almost laughed but it quickly dissolved into a groan of pleasure. His mouth was back on hers, kissing her forcefully. "You're not playing fair." She felt his hand brush down her necklace and a little lower until they caressed over her silky top and traced the edge of her breasts. She lost her breathing for moment, all the air in the world vanished in an instant. It was a fleeting touch but her whole body tingled and demanded more.

The next few minutes were a blur of deep, passionate kisses and touches. Were Pam felt her hands exploring further up Jim's jean clad thighs she pulled back, this was her threshold for now, any further and she'd be going too fast.

Jim's green eyes were lost to the blackness of his pupils, his desire all too apparent. "We should get going." She husked.

"Yeah, good idea." He was nodding a little too much, his brain racing to catch up. "That was good though. You're ok with-" Worry filled his voice.

"Relax, it was great, _more_ than great, but we should probably stop here before it goes too far, you know?" Pam hoped that things wouldn't become weird, that he doubt himself again.

"Ok, yes, forgot we were in a parking lot in Carbondale, so romantic, huh?"

"Drive Mr Halpert, I have many questions."

"And here's me thinking I'd successfully distracted you."

"I'm nothing if not persistent."

Jim started up the car and they head off to their mystery destination, still happy in each other's company.

They'd been driving back towards Scranton for ten minutes now and still Jim wouldn't tell her where they were going. Pam had made multiple guesses, even absurd ones, but to no avail. At least questioning Jim helped distract her mind from the physical side of their relationship that was quickly building.

"Come on, we're not going to Lake Scranton are we because I'm pretty sure at this time of night it'll be full of teenagers having sex."

"Have I just learnt something about how a teenage Pam Beesly spent her time?"

"What? No! Well, no!" She muddled through some form of protest before giving up and letting her head fall on the cool window. After how they'd been in the parking lot he was going to think she was some sort of exhibitionist with a fetish for car parks.

"If could've found anyone willing I'd have been there too. But, for your information, we're not going to Lake Scranton."

"So where?"

"Not far now, patience my beautiful Pam."

"You think that by calling me that I'll stop don't you?"

"Did it work my beauuuuutiful Pam?" He stretched out the word beautiful and topped it with that knee quaking smile of his just to kick it home.

"Ugh, yes." She pouted.

"We can talk about something else, were you kidding when you said that woman was Michael's mother? I mean, she looked old enough but the short skirt, that was..."

"Non-existent and kinda creepy?"

"Yeah. Big time."

"That's her, the one and only, Mrs Scott." It could only be said dramatically, the woman was a force to be reckoned with.

"What's she like?"

"Charismatic." She registered his look of disbelief as his eyebrows shot skywards. "Yeah, I know, but you can't help but listen to her when she talks, she really does draw people to her, definitely an alpha female. She makes me feel like she's actually listening to me, always asks how I am but she's got some... weird ideas."

"Like what?"

"She treats Michael like he's a child, says that a mother's job never ends and no woman could ever replace her. She still thinks Michael is the next Donald Trump slash magician extraordinaire, that the disappointments are just temporary. Like he's in an average guy disguise."

"Okay... learning a little more about why Michael is Michael." Jim almost sounded sympathetic.

"I'll have to put her through to you one of these days."

"I'm so curious but terrified at the same time."

"Yeah, she'd probably eat your soul."

"Now Dwight's mother, that's someone I've gotta meet!"

"I know! Do you think we could arrange a Dunder Mifflin Mothers Day Luncheon or something? We need to make a plan."

"It's something that requires some devious planning by devious minds." Jim knew exactly what to say to make her sparkle; being devious together was her favourite pastime. Who needed to knit?

"I think I know a couple of people who fit the bill."

"But are they devious enough?"

"They are by far the most devious people on the planet, or at least in this car."

They drove on a few more minutes before Jim pulled up at the side of the road.

"We're here."

"We're at the park." She looked over her shoulder, on the other side of the hedge she could see the top of the oak tree they'd met at that night, the place she'd told him that she was falling for him.

"We are but I need you to sit tight for a moment; I promise it'll be worth it."

"Uuh, ok... you do know it's pitch dark out there?"

"I do. I'll come get you in a minute but I need one more favour."

"Oh yes?" She was more than a little intrigued.

"Close your eyes, just until I leave the car."

She was all ready to protest and question but she'd give him the benefit of the doubt this time. She had a feeling it would be worth it.

"The things I'll do for you, Halpert. This isn't a prank right?"

"You don't prank a master prankster, I'm smart enough to know that. Also, you don't prank your date, not the best way to get a second. Eyes please Miss Beesly."

"Fine, I trust you. I think." She closed her eyes as she was told but could feel him move in front of her. She really wanted to know what he was up to, she felt far too vulnerable with her eyes closed, feeling like she was being watched. She really wanted to look.

"No peeking."

"I wasn't peeking."

"I could hear you thinking about peeking."

"Oh just hurry up before I do peek."

She could hear him open the glove compartment and pull something or multiple somethings out. She heard him slam it shut and before she could say another word he was kissing her. He must have been balancing over from the angle she could feel his warm lips caressing hers. She leant forward when he tried to finish the kiss so she could enjoy it a little longer. She kept her eyes closed.

"Now if you promised a kiss for good behaviour I might not have considered peeking."

"I'll be right back. The radio still works with the engine off if you want to listen to some music."

"Ok, see you soon. Literally." She heard the car door slam and opened her eyes. He'd rushed to the trunk of the car and pulled out the bag of desserts. She guessed he was setting them up on a table for her, maybe with a blanket or something which was unbelievably romantic. She had to wonder how she got that lucky.

When Jim disappeared into the park behind the tall hedge she opened the glove compartment. It was a pretty useless endeavour considering she had no idea what was in there beforehand to tell what was missing. All he had was his car manual, a window scraper, a few receipts and some CDs. There was no way of telling what he'd taken.

She slumped back into her seat with a pout and played with her necklace. Her butterfly. For its delicate look it felt chunky and solid to the touch. She could feel the changing texture of the gold and the coloured enamel and details on the butterfly's body. It was obviously beautifully made, she was trying to resist the urge to compare it to other jewellery-type gifts she'd gotten from a person she promised herself she wouldn't think about tonight but it was difficult, it was her only frame of reference.

Another few minutes passed as she reflected on their evening so far. She'd kicked off her shoes and flexed her feet. That felt almost as good as kissing Jim as she ooh'ed and aah'ed at the painful yet satisfying stretching. She would have given them a massage but it would have made her hands decidedly skanky. She slipped them back on with a wince; her feet felt two sizes bigger than when she'd left her new apartment.

Still trying to keep herself amused she pulled out the cork which had made Penny's purse smell faintly of champagne. Pam had also snuck an orchid blossom out too, she planned on pressing later, she didn't want to forget a single detail.

When Pam sensed movement around her she saw Jim rushing back to the car to open her door.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, that took longer than I expected. Ready?" He held out his hand and she took it so he could help her out the car. Her feet let out a little yelp when she put her weight on them again but she could hardly walk barefoot in the park. "Hungry?"

"I've been craving my mango pancakes since we left." She muttered curses and poxes upon the Scott's under her breath which wasn't unheard by her companion.

"Remind me never to cross you, Pam." He laughed the words. "Just around this corner..."

Pam had expected an impromptu late night picnic but the sight she held before her was once again so much more. The table they'd sat at that night was covered in tea lights, along with little clusters on the ground circling the table casting a warm glow in the still night. There must have been at least one hundred of them. As if the candles weren't enough spread between them were dozens of purple orchid blossoms.

"Jim, oh my god." She was surprised she could say anything at all, her whole body seized up at the sight.

"Yeah, I went back and bought some candles and they threw in some flowers too along with a lighter. A little bit of the Green Dragon in the park." She knew he was proud of himself and he had every right to be. "Come on, I'm Jonesing for some coconut." He tugged her hand in the direction of the table but it took another second before Pam's feet would comply.

They sat down and opened their containers. Their desserts looked just as spectacular in polystyrene as on their plates. Pam's crepe had gone cold but it didn't matter as the mango and coconut fragrance was intoxicating.

"Oh, you'll need these." Jim handed her a fork and spoon. "I've got to take them back tomorrow."

He really had thought of everything.

"How come you keep taking my breath away tonight?"

"You started it Bees." He joked before filling his mouth with cold ice cream from half a coconut shell. "Wow, I think this is my new favourite flavour of ice cream. Wanna taste?"

"Mmm, please."

Jim offered up a spoonful of the ice cream which she ate greedily off his spoon, never breaking eye contact which made the moment all the more charged. After savouring the taste Pam commented. "Whoa, that's seriously amazing."

"Uh huh."

Pam laughed at his non-reply; she was having some effect on his brain tonight.

"Wanna taste mine?"

Pam offered some of her pancake and mango to him. From the noises he was making she could tell he was enjoying it. He finished by licking some stray coconut from his lips. "I think I'll order that next time, delicious."

They finished their desserts in the flickering candle light, sitting so close it left little elbow room but it seemed more important that their bodies touch as much as possible, breaking down that friendship barrier with a sledgehammer.

...*...

Jim couldn't wipe the grin off his face. The candles looked better than he ever thought they would and Pam's face was a picture he'd remember when he was grey and old. He moved the arm closest to her around her shoulder giving her a little more space to move and getting to touch her more. Their desserts were soon finished when Jim decided the next part of his plan.

She snuggled in closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder with her hands on his thigh, this time closer to his knee than other places. As much as he didn't want to stop, it was the right thing to do; they were getting too hot and heavy and were too far away from home. He didn't want to rush their first time, as much as he wanted her, he hoped that they'd both be in love before they took that step. He felt Pam wanted that too.

"You're not cold are you?" It was a warm night but Pam's jacket was nowhere near as warm as his.

"Nope, just happy."

They sat there like that for a little while, just content to be with each other. Jim planted a kiss on the top of her head every now and then, smelling her shampoo which was a scent he just couldn't place but was so very Pam.

"I could stay like this all night." Pam said warmly.

"Well I was wondering if you'd like to dance?"

"Where?"

"Here." Jim stood up and helped Pam out from the bench. Her shoes were perilously high; he was surprised she hadn't fallen over yet. When she was safe on her feet his fished his iPod out from his pocket and gave her one of the earphones.

"So this is what you took from the car."

"This and a flashlight." Jim was concentrating on locating the playlist he'd created, the first time a Pam-themed list had ever made it to his iPod. He found it and put in his half of the earphones. The first song was one they both knew well. Breathless.

He took her in his arms as Corinne Bailey Rae's soulful voice filled the silence of the park. They swayed gently with no space for candle light between them. Pam rested her head against his chest and had her arms beneath his jacket, holding on to his strong back while Jim found his favourite spot at the small of her back. When the chorus hit Jim felt her smile against him.

_I get so breathless, when you call my name _

_I've often wondered, do you feel the same?_

_There's a chemistry, energy, a synchronicity_

_When we're all alone_

_So don't tell me_

_You can't see _

_What I'm thinking of._

Finally she'd seen what he was thinking of.

When their song finished he stooped down to place a soft kiss on her lips as the next song started, Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. He thought he was an easy choice but he couldn't think about anything or anyone but Pam the first time he heard it. They kissed for almost the whole length of the song, slow and unspokenly beautiful. It was one of those moment Jim couldn't quite believe was real, so much of these thoughts about Pam had taken part in his head, it was too incredible for it to real to be happening, for it to be her velvety lips on his, for his arms to be wrapped around her tiny frame.

When the kiss literally slipped out from under him his eyes snapped open to find Pam had stumbled.

"Sorry, sorry, I fell off my shoe and it's a long way down. I'm so clumsy." She scolded herself and fitted herself back into her towering heels.

"Don't worry; it's just another reason I love you."

Pam stiffened and stared straight at his chest. _Oh god._

Jim tried to speak, his mouth was moving but nothing was coming out. What could he do? Take it back? Own up to it? Make a joke? Run away?

"I-I-I-..." Still no words would come.

Pam looked up at him for what felt like the first time in a lifetime. He looked like his world had fallen apart; he knew it, because he'd ruined it, ruined everything by going too fast. And to Snow Patrol too, damn, stupid song. The music continued to play as the next song began, this time it was Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez. It felt like another lifetime had passed when Pam stopped staring, cleared her throat and spoke.

"You love me?"

"Uh... well..." he gave in broken and defeated. He'd been so careful for so long and now it was all undone. "Yes, very much."

"Good. I love you too."

Jim was sure he'd blacked out. He must have dreamt that part. It had taken her weeks just to get to the point that she'd accept a date. Could she love him back?

"You do? You're not just saying that?"

"I do, for a while I think, definitely since the day you went paintballing." He had no choice but to kiss her again to what was fast becoming his new favourite song in the world. He put everything into that kiss, every ounce of love he had. He felt like jumping with happiness now the adrenaline that had been released in fear was now fuelling his joy. Pam's lips moved as eagerly as his, her fingers pressed into the flesh of his back.

"Wow. God, I'm so in love with you, I've wanted to tell you for so, so long."

"How long?"

"Forever maybe." He half laughed. "I tried but always choked at the last moment. Say it again?"

"I love you Jim Halpert." She smiled, her words smiled, everything was perfect.

"Wow."

"I know."

She laid her head where it had been before and Jim was sure she must have noticed his formerly calm heartbeat was now racing so fast it was humming. When the next song played Jim was thankful he'd told her how he'd felt. Adele was singing Bob Dylan's Make You Feel My Love, it had become his replacement for Breathless in recent weeks.

A few more songs later and it was really getting late, they both were stifling yawns after a long day. "You're getting tired."

"A little bit." Pam admitted.

"I'll drive you home."

"Or we could just stay here and listen to every single song you own. That's good too."

"That would take a few weeks, even if we didn't sleep. Come on, I'm practically holding you up."

"That's the shoes."

"Not your most practical pair but I'm a big fan. Do you want to head back to the car while I clean up here?"

"No, I'll help you." She sounded sleepy but pulled herself away from Jim's embrace.

It took a few minutes to blow out and gather up all the candles and flowers, it felt like it took longer to tidy away than it did to set up. When the final few were extinguished Jim turned on the flashlight and guided them back to the car.

Pam dozed a little on the way back to her new apartment, clearly exhausted. She slept with her head tilted towards Jim. He could only see the details of her face when they drove under street lamps but he had to keep his concentration as fatigue lapped at the edges of his mind, trying to lull him to sleep. He pulled up outside Pam's complex and gently woke her.

"We're home."

"Oh, I fell asleep? God, I'm sorry."

"Been a long day. I'll walk you to your door. Your new door." He added the last bit just to see her light up.

They walked in silence not wanting to disturb anyone at almost midnight. When they reached door it was time to finally say goodnight.

"I'll call you tomorrow." He promised, though it hardly needed to be said.

"I'd like that."

He kissed her goodnight with no expectation of going inside. This night had already exceeded his expectations and frankly he was shattered and needed a long shower and some sleep.

"So we're properly boyfriend and girlfriend now?" Pam asked with a little pride. "A couple."

"Yeah, I think so; I like the sound of that." He was official staring into the eyes of his girlfriend Pam. At last.

"Me too." She couldn't stifle that massive yawn which set Jim off too. "I better say goodnight, tonight has been the best first date in history, thank you."

"Wasn't bad, was it?"

"I'll speak to you tomorrow. I love you."

"Love you too. Goodnight."

* * *

**So there you have it. The Date. God I hope it was worth twenty-five chapters of build up!**

**As a little extra note, the first person to review this chapter will be review one hundred, how awesome is that! Best Christmas present ever. **

**Thanks everyone, join you in the next chapter where we'll find our new couple waking up to a fine Sunday morning.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty Seven: Sunday Morning**

Pam slowly opened her eyes and recoiled from the bright light flooding her window. Why hadn't she drawn the curtains last night? She opened her eyes once more and took in her unfamiliar surroundings. She hadn't drawn the curtains because she hadn't hung them yet. She was in her new bed in her new place.

She pulled the covers tighter around her and smiled, it was Sunday and there was no rush to get up. The room was full of boxes and the floor was covered in suitcases of discarded clothing. She wasn't fond of chaos and itched to get out and start unpacking but for a few seconds she wanted to bask in her new start and the memories of last night.

She didn't even give her tiff with Isobel a second thought as she remembered each and every kiss she and Jim had shared, their beautiful meal, the candles, the dancing and the best part, he loved her. And she loved him. So, so much. She wondered if it was too early to call, or maybe text. She rolled over and grabbed her cell phone, there was already a text waiting.

_Good morning my beautiful girlfriend Pam._

Pam text back her good morning and her I love you before slipping out of bed and digging out her fluffy slippers to warm her chilly feet. She couldn't stop smiling. The sun was shining and she couldn't be happier. She was in love with Jim. It hadn't really struck her until he said it, the first words were in her head were 'I love you too', that's what shocked her the most, the fact that there was no doubt. Penny had been right all along, every time he called or she saw him her heart would leap, she'd feel happier just because he was around. She didn't know exactly when it happened, but it felt so good that she'd realised, she felt like dancing to the kitchen.

She had time to make a cup of tea and a slice of jam on toast before there was a knock at the door. Pam was wearing her fleecy blue pyjamas covered in clouds so it wasn't too inappropriate to open the door.

Her sister waited on the other side. "Hey Pam!" She was always a chirpy morning person but so was Pam this morning, even if she was still a little hazy from the champagne and wine. She wasn't hung-over though.

"Hey Pen, come on in. God, is it ten already?" Pam returned to her table and sipped at her tea. "Want a cup, there's just enough for one more."

"Oooh, lovely, how ever-so dainty to have tea in the morning." She curtsied dramatically.

"Just tea Pen, come sit."

Penny didn't move, she was too busy looking around the apartment. "You haven't unpacked a thing." She stated confusedly.

"I unpacked some bath stuff and my slippers, do they count?" Pam still couldn't shift the blinding smile on her face, Penny was bound to pick up on it eventually but she was still surveying the room. She'd spotted the gorgeous bouquet of flowers on the window sill. "Come sit, your big sister commands you."

"You- you're awfully smiley this morning. Did something happen last night when we left you two alone?" A slow and steady grin spread across Penny's face, optimistic as ever, this time, rightly so.

Pam bit her bottom lip and tried to look faux innocent, she couldn't wait for the look of unbridled joy on Penny's face when she worked it out.

"Oh you so did something! What happened, Pam? Tell me everything!" She squealed and pulled up a chair so close she was almost in Pam's lap. When Pam didn't immediately answer Penny started poking her arm repeating. "Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"Ok, ok, calm down or you'll pull a muscle."

"I'm calm!" she shrieked. Pam knew this was as good as she was going to get but she loved her for it. "What happened after we left?"

"As soon as I closed the door I knew I was ready so I told him to ask me out. He asked, I said yes." Pam paused while Penny squeaked with delight and hugged her fast and tight.

"So when is it? We'll go shopping and buy you some new make-up and some perfume and pick out one of your new outfits and you should wear those really high shoes-"

"Pen, Pen, Pen. You're turning into Kelly before my very eyes, snap out of it!" She laughed. "We went out last night and god, it was awesome, amazing, romantic, perfect, gorgeous-"

"Last night? Oh my gosh, details Pam, details!"

"Ok, well he left and came back after an hour, with the flowers I saw you eyeing up. We kissed."

More squealing but shorter this time before Penny refocused. Pam had to admit, this was kinda fun, she'd always been on the receiving end of these conversations, she hadn't had much to share about her relationship since she'd left her teens behind.

"Then we went to the Green Dragon."

"The gorgeous one in Carbondale or the vile one in Dunmore?"

"Carbondale. It was amazing; we got a special table with extra candles, flowers and champagne. I've still got the cork, the head waiter guy wrote the date on it for me, I guess that's our first anniversary."

"Oh my god, I'm so gonna cry!"

"You ain't heard nothing yet, he gave me this." She pulled out her butterfly necklace that she'd worn all night; she couldn't bear to take it off.

"Oh my goodness Pam, it's beautiful, when did he buy this?"

"I don't know, maybe sometime in the last month, anyway," she continued quickly, not wanting to stop, "the food was amazing, have I said that word enough yet? Anyway, everything was perfect, the food, conversation, we were practically cuddling as we ate, it was brilliant. Then, before we ordered desserts Michael showed up."

"Your boss Michael?"

"Yup. Jim spotted him in time and hid us behind our menus, that turned out to be kinda fun. The waitresses knew Michael so they agreed to sneak us out and we took our desserts to go. I thought the evening was gonna be ruined."

"Ooh, you'd totally had "dessert" here didn't you?" She made little finger quote signs around the word dessert and jiggled a little.

"No! Though we did get a little carried away in the car." She admitted, still a little shocked at herself.

"Base?"

"Are you like thirteen? I'm not telling you that! It wasn't terrible, hell, it was pretty damn wonderful."

"Jim and his demon tongue? Huh? Huh? Huh?" She nudged Pam with a sleazy look in her eye.

"Don't I get a pass on stupid things I say when really, really drunk?" Pam hid her face in her hands.

"Sure you do sweetie, except when I want to torture you about it. What happened after you left?"

"Oh, I missed out a part. Jim went back inside claiming he'd left something behind but I knew he was up to something. He wouldn't tell me where we were going either."

"Where did you go?"

"The park, the same spot we met that evening when I told him how I felt."

"Oh. My. Goodness. I really am going to cry now." Penny fanned her face with both hands.

"He told me to wait in the car, oh Pen I wish I'd had a camera, it was beautiful, candles and flowers everywhere, that's what he'd gone back for."

Penny had started tearing up now. "That's so romantic. He really does love you, you know." She let out a little sob.

"He does, and I love him too. We told each other in the park." Before Pam could say any more Penny had both arms wrapped tightly around her neck and dragged her forcibly into a chokehold-like hug, there was no way to stop her tears from flowing.

"My big sister, in love! Oh sweetie I've known for so long! But now you know too!"

"Pen... can't... breathe..."

"Sorry sweetie, hormones." Penny wiped away her happy tears. "I'm just so happy for you, you look so happy."

"I am happy."

"Totally told you so."

"Don't care. In love."

...*...

Jim cracked open just one slightly sleep-crusted eyelid. All was quiet and dark apart from the blazing slither of light burning its way through the crack in the curtains. It took a few seconds but the events of last night filtered through his subconscious. It had actually happened. He rolled over, taking a moment to grunt at the ache in his back from yesterday's heavily lifting and grumbling at the fact that Danny had probably already been out for a run this morning, and text Pam. His girlfriend.

He rubbed his face vigorously like he could rub alertness through his skin by osmosis. Last night had been incredible. Beyond incredible. She was in love with him. Love. Even if Michael had found them on their date, if it had ended with those three words it would have been the best date ever. He'd waited years for that moment, a moment he wasn't sure would ever happen. There was a small part of him that never gave up and for that he was grateful. I was worth the dark days.

He couldn't lie in bed anymore, he still felt full from last night's dinner but his mouth was bone dry and nature was calling insistently. Without bothering with sweat pants he made his way to the bathroom in his boxer briefs and an old tee before heading downstairs and pouring a glass of cold water. Jim could hear some footsteps upstairs, Mark must have woken up and Jim was ready to interrogate him about his date before letting on that he had one of his own.

The water felt so good. He could feel his brain coming back to life like it had shrivelled to the size of a raisin in the night and was now plumping up beautifully. "So good." He refilled his glass and settled at the kitchen table with one of Mark's motorcycle magazines as entertainment. He lifted his head when sensed the door open but found two brunette figures, not one, looking a little surprised. Jim would have enjoyed Mark's embarrassment more if he was wearing more than just his boxers. Tight ones at that. Thank god the table was blocking their view.

"Morning." Jim said as naturally as he could but trying to read Mark's eyes at the same time. Had he'd slept with Isobel?

"Morning, didn't hear you get up."

"Yup. Really thirsty." Jim waved his empty glass before turning his attention to Mark's guest, Isobel, wearing her hoodie and jeans from yesterday. "Morning."

"Morning, um, I guess I can have that shower?" She ran her fingers through her hair to rid herself of the worst of the bed head look.

"Sure." Mark said sweetly, "The blue towel in there is fresh and help yourself to the white shower gel, that's mine."

"Thanks." Isobel slipped away as quietly as she arrived. The boys stayed silent until they heard the bathroom door creak and slam shut.

"Before you say anything!" Mark cut Jim off before he'd uttered a syllable but was dying to do so. "We didn't sleep together we just... slept... literally. I even stayed above the covers, a perfect gentleman."

Jim had thought that it was more than that but Mark wouldn't lie to him. If nothing happened, then nothing happened.

"Even so, it must have gone well."

"Yeah, it did." He said with the dopiest grin. Jim would have mocked him if he hadn't been wearing that same grin since late that night.

"And?"

"And what? We went out, we still wanted to talk when the bar closed so I invited her back here thinking I could just send you out the way if you weren't still at Pam's. Where were you by the way?"

"With Pam, but continue." He wasn't going to distract Mark at this point, he didn't want to steal his thunder either, it had been a long time since he'd let his guard down with anyone since Tina cheated on him.

"Well, we just talked and got to know each other. She's really nice."

"Where did you take her?"

"Flannery's, they had a jazz and blues night with all southern food, it was brilliant. Kevin from your office was there, he says hi by the way."

"Cool. I'd forgotten about that thing at Flannery's, did Isobel like it?"

"Yeah, we were both dancing, she really got into it."

"Sounds great but how did you end up in bed?"

"She was in bed, I was _on_ the bed." Mark corrected, protecting Isobel's honour vigorously.

"Fine, how did she end up _in_ bed and you _on_ the bed?"

"Well, she didn't believe that I had a signed picture of Samuel L Jackson _with_ its certificate of authenticity. So I took her to my room and showed her. We both sat on the bed and she pretended to psychoanalyse me by looking at my stuff, she's got a wicked sense of humour, she says that I have a secret passion to be a bee keeper because of my ringtone." Mark laughed like it was the most hilarious observation on the planet and Jim couldn't help but look amused. He was smitten. "Then we got tired and laid down, still talking, we heard you come home so I said it would be ok for her to stay."

"Sounds great man, did you show her your signed Star Trek photos too?"

"Shhh! A guy needs his secrets, she can learn that later, you have to let the geek out in little bursts so they acclimatise."

"Yeah, still so much dork for Pam to discover."

"Still got that signed Buffy picture I got you?"

"Yes, always."

"You better I spent hours waiting between two guys with more than dubious hygiene."

"And I appreciate that, well my seventeen-year-old self certainly did." They both pulled faces at each other. "Getting back on to you and Is, I guess you'll be going out again?"

"Yep, next Friday actually. Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Why are you still only wearing boxers? Tight ones at that."

"Shit. Yeah, I'll go put something on."

Within a five minutes Jim was back in the kitchen still smiling but wearing a pair of jeans and welcoming a cup of coffee from Mark. He'd checked his cell phone which was on charge in his room and found a text from Pam.

_Good morning to you too, my love._

My love. That was a way to start a Sunday.

"Thanks. Smells so good." Jim inhaled the warm steam from the coffee into his lungs.

"So how'd your evening with Pam go? You were home late, have an Ikea-a-thon?"

"Actually..." Jim was cut off by a knocking at the door. "I'll get it."

Jim got to the front door and found Nick and Sandra with matching eager expressions.

"So how'd it go?" Asked Sandra. "My sister is watching the twins."

"I owe you a kidney each, come on in, I was about to tell Mark."

"Tell Mark what?" His roommate leaned in the doorway holding his coffee.

"Jim went out with Pam last night!" It was Nick who answered, completely over excited.

A voice from the stairs was next to speak. "You and Pam finally went out?" Exclaimed Isobel.

"We did and we're officially together now." It felt so good to say it out loud though he wasn't sure if Pam would have wanted to tell Isobel. Jim found himself being hugged tightly by Mark and his hair being ruffled by Isobel while congratulations were offered.

"So we want to know how it went, did she like the Green Dragon?" Questioned Sandra furtively.

"Come through to the living room, I'll update you all with the highlights." He'd save some more of the details for Mark; he wasn't great with opening up to so many people.

With everyone settled and Isobel introduced to Nick and Sandra as Pam's friend he began.

"Well straight after Pen and Dan left Pam told me to ask her out so I did. I thought it would be a great idea to take her out that night and thanks to Nick and Sandra they helped me put together a perfect date, you guys have no idea how happy Pam was when she got the flowers and how the table looked at the Thai Dragon, the head waiter even called Pam my beloved."

"Yeah, Gerald is a character." Sandra chuckled.

"It was amazing, the champagne, the candles, everything was perfect, god, I owe you guys big time, seriously, the biggest, biggest favour, any time."

"You can pay us back in babysitting. Don't stop, what happened at the Dragon?"

"Well, I gave her a present, a necklace, she liked that." Jim unconsciously rubbed at the tight tendons of his neck, he wasn't used to this much attention. That was met by various aww's and cooing that Jim was a classic romantic. Jim spotted that Isobel and Mark had started holding hands and were trying to hide it. It made him lose track of his thoughts.

"Uh, yeah, where was I? Yeah, so everything was going perfectly, Pam looked beautiful," Jim caught himself saying too much and blushed, "yeah, it was going really well until Michael showed up and Pam and I had to literally hid behind our dessert menus."

"Oh my god, your boss Michael?" Isobel knew just as well as Nick and Mark about Michael, his reputation preceded him.

"Yep, with his mom too. He didn't spot us, we ordered our desserts to go and they helped sneak us out, our waitress was really cool. Then I kinda had an idea so I left Pam outside and bought a load of those small candles from Gerald and he even threw in some of the orchid blossoms that had fallen off during the night too, oh, and he leant me some proper cutlery too. I thought it would be kinda nice if we had a little picnic in the park, our special spot."

Jim tried to make it sound as mediocre as possible but everyone saw right through him, Sandra had covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers and was going glassy-eyed, Isobel looked the softest he'd ever seen her and even the boys looked caught up in the moment.

Jim carried on quickly so he could rid himself of the attention. "Yeah, so Pam liked that and then we danced a little."

"How did you dance in the park?" Asked Isobel curiously.

"Oh, I had my iPod with me, earphone each."

"Wow, the famous iPod strikes again."

"I guess so." Jim decided to leave out the love part, he'd tell Mark about that later. "So we stayed there until it got late and I drove her home and that's it. We're officially together, the whole boyfriend girlfriend thing."

"Well I know you're leaving a whole load out," said Sandra with care in her voice, "but I'm glad we could help make it so special for you both, you certainly did well when you had to think on your feet, melted my heart." She clutched at her chest.

"Way to make me and Mark look bad Jim." Nick said in jest. "We better head back, Trish can't cope with the two of them for long. Good luck with date number two."

"Thanks guys, I don't know what I'd have done without you both."

"You'd have been fine." Sandra gave him a kiss on the cheek and they both left leaving Jim, Mark and Isobel. Jim wasn't sure how to behave toward Isobel, after all he still didn't know why she and Pam fell out but this was potentially Mark's new girlfriend too.

"I'm really impressed Jim," Isobel broke the silence, "you really would have swept Pam off her feet. I know she loved it. She deserves that, you know, after Roy. You sure know how to treat a girl."

"Thanks."

"I'd love to sit around and chat some more but I've got some important stuff to get to." Isobel stood and so did the boys. "Jim, you keep loving Pam the way you do and you'll both be ridiculously happy." She gave him a squeeze on the arm and Mark walked her to her car.

He might not have told them he loved Pam but it must have been obvious. He trusted Mark not to spill his secret. When Mark returned the first words out of his mouth were "I didn't tell her."

"I know, but I did tell her. I mean, I told Pam, not Is."

"You did? When?" Mark sat on the couch giving him his full attention like so many times before.

"By accident when we were dancing. She stumbled and apologised for being clumsy and I said it was just another reason I was in love with her."

"Oh god, how did she take it?" Mark registered Jim's expression. "You're smiling, you're really smiling, oh god, she said it back didn't she?" The excitement was building in his voice.

"Yep, she did. Once the shock wore off."

"Holy crap man, this is freaking huge! Like news of the Halpert century!" Mark almost knocked him off the couch with a hug.

"Whoa man, easy."

Mark pulled back. "Sorry, this is just massive, all this waiting." Mark ran his hands through his hair; he was more worked up than Jim.

"You've totally screwed yourself for a second date because you can't top that but hell, you did good work there, sappy bastard."

"I was completely freaking out until Nick set up the Thai place, he got us the special treatment. It was perfect."

"So cool man, I'm so happy for you."

"I didn't mean to take the shine off your date."

"Nah, not at all, this is just huge, not just the date, I just... I know how much this means to you."

"Well you have been there to hold my hand through it all."

"In the manliest way possible."

"Of course. So you and Is then? Saw you holding hands; it's serious with you both isn't it?"

"It feels that way, but it's still really early, we only met yesterday."

"Doesn't matter, I liked Pam from the moment I met her, she was all I talked about when I got home from my first day."

"I remember. So looks like both of our love lives have taken a turn for the better."

"Scary, huh?"

"Terrifying."

...*...

Pam and Penny were busy unpacking now Pam had showered and calmed her sister's hysterical happiness. Pam had opened the windows and fresh summery air filled her home. It really did feel like she'd started a new life.

"Oh I so knew you had my copy of The Wedding Singer!" Penny yelled righteously.

"No way, that's my copy!"

"Then where's mine?"

"How would I know? I got that on sale at the market."

"No, you bought that other Drew Barrymore thing, the one with amnesia."

"Kelly has that."

"How come I'm holding it my hand?"

"Uh... I borrowed it?"

"I'm so taking it back!"

"Fine, I'll just borrow it again when I wanna watch it." Pam poked out her tongue.

"Oh seriously, you've got my Sleepless in Seattle too!" Penny was getting outraged. "How much of my stuff do you have?"

"Well I used that purse you leant me last night."

"It was used in the pursuit of love with Hot Jim so that's ok. Oh my sister, in love!"

"No more crying Pen."

"I know, just my hormones are crazy at the moment. I'm taking this back; it was the first movie I ever cried at."

"Ugh, I'll have no DVDs left. I guess that's ok, I need to buy a DVD player."

"Roy took that?"

"Yeah, I didn't mind, they aren't that expensive. I kept George Forman grill." Pam shrugged; she wasn't concerned about that anymore.

"I guess that's ok. Ooh, you've got Shaun of the Dead; we should totally have a horror night with the girls."

"Totally."

There was an unexpected knock at the door.

"Oooh, Hot Jim can't keep away from his love!"

"It's not Jim, he's gotta do stuff for his dad today, he's still in plaster."

Pam clambered over her stuff spread about and made it to the door.

"Isobel."

"Hey Pam, can I come in?" She sounded humble enough, maybe it hadn't taken the week Pam expected for her to come and apologise.

"Ok." Pam stood back and let her walk through.

"Listen, I'll come out right and say it, I, uh, shouldn't have tried to tell you what you should be doing with your life or Jim's. I'm sorry."

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that."

"Yeah, well I guess I got a reality check. You're family to me and although I still think you can do anything you want, I didn't exactly go about it the right way. I don't want to fight anymore."

"Me neither, come here." Pam held out her arms for a hug and embraced her friend. "What the heck happened to you last night? You never back down when you think you're right."

"I just had a good night. A little epiphany. Maybe I don't have to set the world to rights all the time. Just some of it." She and Pam laughed and any residual tension lifted. Isobel turned to look at Penny who was crying again. "What's up with her?"

"She's quite mad today."

"So I heard someone had a super romantic date!" Said Isobel, settling cross-legged on the floor to help unpack more DVDs and CDs.

"Kelly's texting early for a Sunday morning."

"I heard it from... elsewhere..."

"Oooh, of course," Pam remembered she'd left with Mark, Jim must have text him, "how could I forget your date. How'd it go?"

"I'm not saying too much but it was pretty damn nice. We're going out again on Friday."

Penny was going off on another mad moment. "Oh my gosh, it's just fate! Love draws together love! All of us with beaus!"

"Calm down Pen, I don't believe in love at first sight and we're just dating. Also, stop saying beau."

"Pam loves Jim." Penny couldn't hold that in any longer.

"Really? You love him?"

"Yeah, I told him too." She answered shyly.

"He left that out." Isobel stroked her chin thoughtfully.

"You've spoken to Jim?" Pam wasn't sure how that could have possibly happened; her mind threw up no viable possibilities unless...

"Uh... shit. Yeah, I woke up there." Both Penny and Pam's eyes were out on stalks. "Get your minds out of the gutter, there was no sex, just talking and sleeping after we went for dinner and dancing."

"You slept over?"

"It's just sleep; he stayed on top of the covers like a gentleman. We did kiss a bit. A lot actually." Isobel's cheeks reddened at the memory making Pam flush too as she remembered the kisses she'd shared with Jim.

"Wow, good night had by all." Commented Pam, still a little shocked. "What did Jim say?"

"He just told us what happened, I want your version too, he played it down but it sounded very romantic, especially that thing in the park. Hell, if he ever does that again expect a proposal."

Penny squeaked. "Oh my gosh, that's how he'll do it!"

"We've had one date! Chill out and marry off Is and Mark, I've not spent the night at Jim's yet!"

"I'm not a hussy!"

"Oh such a hussy!" Teased Pam, earning herself a slap on the shoulder with a DVD of The Forty Year Old Virgin.

"Hey, this is mine!" Isobel yelled, looking at the box.

"Oh god, do I own anything?"

* * *

**Just a fun chapter for you. Looks like Mark's having a positive influence on Isobel and Penny's overdosing on romance, just your average day. **


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Sunday Afternoon**

Jim arrived at his parent's house a little late after finding himself talking half the morning away with Mark and then spending the rest of his time texting Pam. He let himself in and found his mother in the kitchen.

"You are late mister." She scolded with a vegetable peeler opposed to a wagging finger.

"Sorry mom." He kissed her on the cheek but she still looked annoyed. "How's dad?" He dad was still in plaster from his accident and he was far from an easy patient.

"Driving me crazy." She gestured to the window that overlooked the garden. Spread out on the lawn were various wood panels, windows and planks of wood. "He's bought a new potting shed."

"What was wrong with the old one?" Jim sighed and already felt a headache coming on, he wasn't looking forward to an afternoon of taking orders from his dad when he could be spending it with Pam. At least he could put together Ikea stuff without looking like someone who'd never held a screw driver before.

"Apparently it was too drafty for his tomatoes, I don't know, he got bored one afternoon, I swear I'll send him back to work at the rate he's going." His mom cut up potatoes with aggression Jim had seen before when it was directed at his father. His dad always needed a project and it was rarely small and always involved building something. His mother used to complain that he'd never redecorate but he was always happy to knock down and rebuild a wall.

Jim's back still ached from yesterday. "Are Pete or Tom coming over?"

"Sorry darling, it's just you and your dad." She had cooled off a bit now she'd vented. "How was your week?"

"Pretty great. Actually, I have some-" Jim was ready to tell his mom about Pam when his dad walked in.

"How long have you been here?" He questioned while opening and closing drawers and cabinets as noisily as he could. Jim could feel the tension emanating from his mom once again as he disrupted her kitchen.

"What are you looking for?" His mom hissed, gripping the peeler so tight her knuckles were white. Jim stayed out of their way, much like when he was a child. These spats rarely amounted to much; his dad had a way of charming his mom just as she was really going to lose it.

"I need scissors."

"In the knife block. You could have asked me."

"But where's the fun in that?" She flashed a grin and Jim watched as his mom smiled back like she was under a spell. Watch and learn, Jim thought to himself. "Come on boy, time to get your hands dirty."

"Actually, before we start I have some news." Both of his parents were still and completely focused on him, it was slightly unnerving. Jim cleared his throat. "Remember Pam, the receptionist from work?"

"Of course dear, is she ok?" His mother sounded concerned but her mind always went to the worst case scenario.

"She's fine, mom. We're dating." He beamed; it was so good to finally say but...

Silence.

He wasn't expecting this.

"Yeah, um, well you know we've been friend for ages so we're taking it seriously, I mean, I wouldn't be telling you guys if I weren't." The nervous laughter that followed spurred his mother to speak.

"This is wonderful news, isn't it Gerry?" His mom smiled but it was forced.

"Yes, wonderful. I better get back outside, I'll see you out there Jim." Jim was expecting jubilant hugs and demanding to invite Pam to dinner, not a brush off from his dad and a worried, motherly look from his mom.

"I thought you'd be happier."

"We are, but didn't she just break off a long engagement?"

"That was over a month ago. She's ready for this, it was her choice."

"Fair enough, darling, we are happy for you, the way you talk about that girl we thought you two might get together eventually." She still sounded dismissive, Jim couldn't understand it, he'd seen his mom fawn over his other brothers any time they'd even mentioned a girl. Granted, he hadn't told them about anyone he's dated since college but there hasn't been anyone special. Not like Pam.

"It's serious mom, it's not a rebound thing or some fling." He sounded terse at the least.

"I'm your mother; it's my job to worry about you." She returned to chopping vegetables.

Jim couldn't say the first words that popped into his head, he'd regret them immediately.

"I better go help dad before he breaks another limb." He kept his words purposefully clipped.

"Ok darling, I'll be out with cold drinks a little later." She didn't meet his eyes and kept her eyes on preparing the Sunday roast.

Jim left without another word in a furious mood.

"About time." Said his dad teasingly but Jim wasn't in the mood to take it.

"What is yours and mom's problem?"

His dad sighed. "I'm happy for you boy, I am, I expected it after you told us she left that Roy person." He moved some bags of screws and washers around with his good hand. "I even thought that maybe you were dating before all of that business."

"Come on dad, you know me better than that." Jim knew he wouldn't have had an affair with Pam but it probably wasn't for the moral reason it looked like, he just wouldn't have been able to share her with someone else. That's a moot point though and he shook it from his mind.

"But I also know how smitten you are, I didn't miss how concerned Mark looked when you'd talk about her sometimes, he never said anything though."

"You and mom are blowing things out of proportion, seriously, I like her, she likes me too and now she's moved into her new place she feels ready to date. It's simple, I'm happy." He purposefully left out mentions of love; he honestly didn't feel like they deserved to know even if his dad was being straighter with him than his mom was.

"Maybe we are and I'm glad you're happy son, that's all we really want. You're a grown man but we'll always be your parents. I'm looking forward to meeting her at last, when you're ready of course; don't let your mom push you."

"Well I don't think she cares to meet her right now." He said all too bitterly.

"Problem is she cares too much, you'll always be the baby of the family." His dad pulled up a chair while Jim brooded, there wasn't much point in arguing, he'd only end up sounding like a teenager which wouldn't help his cause. "Right, you're going to need base A and panel 1A to start, look alive, boy."

After two hours of solid building and cursing under his breath they had half the structure up minus the roof. Jim's mom brought out a cold drink which Jim downed in one. He didn't fancy hanging around with his mom, he was still irked at their earlier conversation and really didn't want to make it worse. With his brothers living too far away to call upon it was Jim that was picking up the slack due to his dad's injury, even if his dad had a habit of creating work for him, he couldn't risk his mom not calling if he was needed. She was proud and stubborn in equal parts.

His dad was keeping his mom busy showing her what they'd done so far so Jim snuck inside and hid in the bathroom to call Pam.

"Hey." She answered, one simple word calming and relaxing him. "Give me a second, my parents are here and I don't want my mom eavesdropping." Jim could hear her mom jokingly protest and laugh. "Ok, I'm in my bedroom."

"Say sane things to me." He closed his eyes and rested his head against the door.

"E equals MC squared, the sky is blue, the grass is green and Jim Halpert is hot." She said in faux seriousness.

Jim sighed contentedly. "Thanks, I needed that."

"Rough time at your folks?"

"Little bit." He wasn't sure if he should tell her about the reaction he got but he felt like keeping a secret was worse. Either way, it was more about what his parents thought about him than her. "I told my folks about you."

"Oh god, did it not go well?" She sounded more than a little worried.

"I don't know, I think I was expecting something different, I thought they would be happy and excited."

"What happened?"

"I told them that we were dating and they were both silent and my mom always has something to say, especially about her boys and the girls they choose."

"Oh god, they hate me already?"

"No, no, no" he corrected quickly. "No one could hate you, I think it's me. Dad seems to think we've been dating a while, like before you and Roy split which shows how much he thinks about me and mom thinks I'm naive getting involved with someone fresh out of a long-term relationship. It's probably my own fault; I've not given them much to go on so they've assumed I'm hiding something and filled in the gaps."

"You gonna talk to them?"

"Yeah, I'm still pissed at my mom, but at least my dad was up front with me and accepted my side. Believe me, when they finally meet you, they are going to love you, I promise you. Don't doubt that. You are too wonderful for them not to love you."

"Well my parents are big fans of you already, I just told them a little while ago."

"So they support you?"

"A hundred percent. They've seen how much happier I am and even Roy is doing better, he's getting his own place soon, my mom and his mom still talk. At least one of us has it good. Are you going to be ok?"

"I am now I've spoken to you. My dad's making me build a potting shed."

"On your own?"

"Well he's instructing me so yes, on my own." He said flatly.

"Oh man." She giggled at his predicament. "Well, you're welcome to come here tonight, if you want, dad brought over a spare DVD player and I have about three DVDs left after Pen and Is took theirs back."

"Hmm, which three?"

"Fargo is one of them."

"So you're not admitting to the other two?"

"You'll have to come over and see them; I'll be here alone from about eight."

"If I can move by then. My back is killing me." He grunted and groaned as he stretched out his knotted back. "Hell, even if I can't move I'll be there, all it'll take is a wheel barrow and bribing Mark with imported beer and cheese."

"Cheese?"

"What that man will do for French cheeses and crackers doesn't bare thinking about."

"I'll leave that to my imagination."

"I've been gone a while, I better go before my mom comes looking and tries to talk to me again."

"Ok, call me if you need another sanity infusion."

"I will, I love you."

"Love you too."

Jim regretfully hung up his cell, he didn't really want to stop talking and he had so much more on his mind about the way his parents were behaving.

* * *

**So once again a slightly different chapter building on Jim and Pam's relationship. We'll find out more about Jim's parents and his relationship with them when Jim gets some alone time with Pam tonight. **


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Sunday Night**

Pam had just finished a massive amount of washing up after cooking her parents a meal in her new home. Even something as simple as a shepherd's pie had been tricky in such a small space but it was still a wonderful landmark. Her first official meal. Hopefully she'd have a chance to pick out some paint and really make the kitchen her own this week.

She collapsed in a huge, old squishy arm chair that her dad insisted she had until her new couch and armchair arrived. It smelled like her childhood home and that was strangely comforting, she'd grown up with this chair, she pushed Penny off it when they were little and broken one of her fingers too. It was nice to have warm memories of the past in a new space, something that tied her to a time before Roy. It was also nice to finally have the place to herself. Apart from sleeping alone last night, she hadn't had much alone time.

She played with her new butterfly necklace as she mulled things over. Jim's phone call from earlier had troubled her. She was convinced his parents disapproved of her; it was the only logical explanation as to why his parents wouldn't be thrilled Jim had found someone worth telling them about. It had to be her. Jim had called again, just to confirm it would be ok to come over and whether he should bring anything but he hadn't mentioned his parents again. She could only hope that in time she could settle their misgivings, prove herself to them, but she had no idea how Jim was going to handle it. He seemed as surprised as she was over their reaction, maybe more so considering they were his parents. She'd win them over; she wasn't going to be defeated by this, she had to make them like her.

She felt her eyes close, it had been a long week of packing, moving and settling in. And dating, she couldn't forget that. She wasn't sure how long she'd dozed off for but a sharp knock woke her and she stumbled sleepily to the door. She was still dozy when Jim swept her up into his arms lifting her clear off the floor and kissed her.

"I have _never_ been happier to see you."

"Mmm, do you greet everyone like this?"

"Just the mailman when he brings me stuff from Amazon."

"Is he cuter than me?"

"You're way cuter but he does wear those nice shorts to work."

"I can live with that."

Jim was still holding her up as he strode across the living room. He stopped abruptly. "What's that?"

Pam turned to see what he was staring at. "That would be a chair, Jim. You sit on them at work? You duct taped Dwight's upside down to the ceiling?"

"It looks older than you."

"It may well be, but it's really comfy."

Jim approached it carefully, "You sure I won't catch lice from it?"

She swatted him on the shoulder. "My dad leant it to me until my couch arrives so be nice."

"I apologise to the chair." Jim said before settling himself in it and making Pam comfortable on his lap. "Oh my god, it really is comfortable."

"How's your back?" She settled in and rested her head on one of the plush cushions at head height; she was more than comfortable laid across Jim, he felt gorgeously warm too.

"Tight but ok, I had an hour long shower when I got home which helped. I think I'll feel it tomorrow though, hopefully Michael hasn't got any surprises in store, paper box relay or  
something."

"I was going to offer a massage but as you're feeling ok..."

"Did I mention the indescribable pain I'm in? I didn't mention it before because it's, you know, indescribable. No words."

"Yeah, yeah Halpert." She ruffled his hair; she loved playing with it whenever she could, something so tactile and intimate about running her fingers through that shaggy style. Despite the light conversation her curiosity was getting the better of her so she said what was on her mind. "So do you wanna talk about what happened at your folks?"

Jim sighed and his face fell. "Yeah, if you don't mind." Pam gestured for him to continue. "My dad is fine now; we had a really long talk, about a lot of stuff, not just this, and it was really good. We don't usually talk about life stuff, we've always stuck to sports, work, jokes, his latest project but it was different today."

"That sounds great, honey."

"You just called me honey." He grinned.

"Thought I'd try it out."

"I like it."

"Good. So tell me more about your dad."

"Not much else to say, I told him loads more about you and what's been going on, I didn't say too much, more about me and the last few years since I got back from college. We talked about what I look for in someone I like which basically described you." He smiled. Wow, she thought, even when he was trying to be deep he couldn't help but flirt with her. "He told me about when he met mom and how he couldn't stand her."

"Seriously?"

"Yep, apparently she was officious and would never back down and that ended up being what brought them together, he wouldn't back down either. I think me and my dad know each other better now, I've only mentioned two women to my parents before you and they never met them, all they knew about you was that you were engaged and we were usually up to no good. Mom used to worry about me getting fired and blamed my brothers for being bad influences."

"I'm sure I've been a worse influence on you." Pam was taking in each detail. She figured one of the women he mentioned would have been that Dutch girl but the other was a mystery, he hadn't been remotely serious about anyone since she'd known him, surely wasn't Katy the purse girl.

"Probably. But I think I know where my dad was coming from, I mean, if I ever wanted to talk about girl problems I went to Mark pretty much from the day I realised that they weren't a cootie infested menace. Also, with my brothers, it wasn't a good idea to share anything you didn't want written on your face." Somehow Pam didn't think Jim was saying that for effect.

"Nice, I see why you kept your secrets out the house."

"Yeah, mom wasn't that much better, especially when it came to me."

"Why especially?" His expression had changed now he was talking about his mom, more distant and dim. She stroked her hand through his hair comfortingly and kissed his temple.

"I'm the youngest, I was always having to fight off Pete and Tom and I was bit bookish when I was little and kinda skinny too, not that you can tell now with me being all buff and ripped."

"I saw your yearbook photo, you were skinny."

"Thanks." He frowned sarcastically.

"But you're all grown up now; you build potting sheds and hold down a job, you're not a skinny kid anymore."

"She says it's a tough habit to break." He sighed deeply, obviously unconvinced and down.

"So did you make any headway like you did with your dad?"

"No." He said flatly. "She's stubborn, when she thinks she's right about something she doesn't let go. Apparently I'm a "sensitive boy" and always have been." Being this close she could see the tension in his jaw. "I tried to talk to her; she says I need to make my own mistakes. Then I snapped at her and said you weren't a mistake and I might have stormed out." He bit at his lips hard. "Ok, I definitely stormed out."

Pam had never known Jim to lose his temper; he was a 'take-a-deep-breath-and-find-reason' kind of guy. It would take a lot to make him snap like that. His brow was furrowed deeply and he was looking down, this had really upset him.

"God, Jim, I'm really sorry, you deserve better than that. You know we'll prove her wrong, right?" She tried for comforting words but she couldn't make this better by herself. She was starting to dread meeting his mother a little.

"Yeah I do." He nuzzled into her warmth as much as he could. "Dad called on the way home, he overheard us shouting and he said he'd talk to her. Maybe things will cool down in a couple of weeks and we can talk but right now I'm just really frustrated with her." He rubbed his face with his free palm. "Actually, it's more than frustration, I am so pissed." Jim balled up his fists as he continued. "I've never lost it like that with my mom, I shouted, _really _shouted before I left I was so angry and I really didn't care if she had my best interests at heart because she wouldn't listen to a damn thing I said." Jim was speaking rapidly and getting riled again but Pam let it be, he needed to let it out. "Sorry." He finished quietly.

"Don't be. Talking helps and I'm always here for you, I should have kept my durosport so you could throw it out the window, it feels really good when you're wound up."

"Oh, you've just inspired a prank; we've got to get Dwight to challenge us to break it."

"I wonder if it could survive a fall from the roof?"

"As long as you miss my car it is so on, Bees." He chuckled evilly. "How do you make me smile so easily? I've had a day to drive me to drink and here I am laughing." He rested his head on her shoulder but Pam noticed he winced a little at the action.

"By being devious. Come on, sit on the floor and I'll rub your neck and shoulders, I can see they're hurting you."

Pam got off Jim's lap and grabbed a cushion that was sitting in a box yet to be unpacked and placed it on the floor in front of the chair. "Sit." Jim slipped to the floor and Pam sat on the armchair behind him with crossed legs. She quietly started to gently knead his muscles through his t-shirt, they were tight and hard but she'd always known he carried tension there from the way he sat at work. She increased the pressure slightly until it felt right.

"Mmm, that feels good." He groaned happily.

She moved her thumbs in small circles up the nape of his neck where it felt hardest, he was always rubbing there when he felt tense. He continued to make pleasurable humming noises which made her prideful of her work. She worked back to his shoulders and felt his head start to loll about slightly, the tightness releasing. If only she was brave enough to massage all of his back but they'd technically only been together a day and it felt too soon.

"Hey, I just realised we've officially been a couple for a whole day now."

"So this massage is my one day anniversary present?"

"I've got some left over shepherd's pie if you're hungry too."

"Sounds nice. Oh, oh right there." She worked at a particular unrelenting knot above his shoulder blade while he grit his teeth with that kind of hurt that felt good. "What do you want to do about work tomorrow?"

"You mean whether or not to tell them about us?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking we should probably keep things quiet for a bit."

"I was thinking forever." Pam was pretty sure very little good would come of telling everyone so it was best to put it off for as long as possible. It's not like they didn't eat lunch alone on the roof sometimes anyway and now the weather was nice they had the whole summer to sneak away.

"Fine with me. Can Kelly keep a secret?"

"Yeah, believe me I know enough about her to keep her quiet."

"Mmm, mutual blackmail, nice."

"The foundation of every friendship." She quirked an eyebrow and went back to kneading the breath of his broad shoulders. They felt strong beneath her fingers, taut like an athlete. "I like your shoulders."

"I don't think they've ever been complimented before so thank you."

"Well they deserve it; I noticed them that time you played basketball down in the warehouse. You have really nice arms too, that's one thing I notice about guys."

"Really now? You know I was trying to impress you that day."

"You kinda did." She blushed remembering a dream she'd had that evening that she promised herself was a one off. Now it felt like it was going to become real in due course.

"That was ages ago now, you should come watch me, Mark, Ollie and some other guys play one evening after work, maybe bring Isobel along so we can both showboat for you."

"I'd like that."

She slipped her hands forward so they ran down the front of his chest. Jim's head fell back slightly against her lap giving her more reach as she moved her hands in slow circles. They weren't talking anymore. Pam could feel his heart beating faster, this time it was she who hummed a little noise of approval. He felt firm beneath her touch, more than she was expecting but she'd never seen him without a shirt on, just that little glimpse he'd shown he after paintball but she'd been much more concerned about the bruise than his body.

She'd leant over, breathing that scent that was now so familiar up close only to hear Jim's breathing had become heavier. Not only that, but so had hers. She continued her long strokes, feeling the outline of his pectoral muscles and letting her hands sweep up and down the tops of his arms. Jim's hands found their way to her knees, it was awkward but he returned her touches as he stroked her thighs as far as he could comfortably reach.

"This o-ok?" He asked quietly, an almost undetectable stammer to his words.

She answered him with a kiss, practically upside down but that only made her appreciate the feel of his full bottom lip as she captured it between hers, kissing him softly. They stayed like that for a moment until Jim pulled her down on to his knee, not even breaking the kiss for a second. Pam hadn't made out like this since she was a teenager, no rush, no pressure, just enjoying each other. She could appreciate it more now, especially since she'd fallen in love with the man who was running his hand up and down her thigh. It was nothing short of delicious; it was the best word she could think to describe being in Jim arms and kissing. Delicious.

* * *

**I know you all wanted more than just kisses!**

**Christmas time is upon me now so little time for writing the way I like to write (intense sessions on my lonesome, just me, my laptop and my imagination.) but I'll be writing regularly again before New Year. I'm not sure where the story will pick up next, I'm going to play around with a few ideas but I know where I'm headed. I've also got their first time all thought out and I'm really happy with how that's going to go! It will happen, I promise! It's going to be a summer of love.**


	30. Chapter 30

**So thanks to being unspeakably ill today I've had a day in bed dozing with my laptop. This means another chapter. You know how I love my character building. Here's some more Mark because I adore him with Jim and Pam because the three of them do make great friends. **

* * *

**Chapter Thirty: Saturday Afternoon**

Pam stood by her dining table and took a long drink of ice tea while she watched Jim and Mark at work in her living room. The kitchen, bedroom and bathroom were complete as she and Jim had painted them slowly during the week after work, followed by a DVD or just snuggling on Pam's old arm chair talking. It was interesting watching Mark and Jim work together; they were a good team for all of their teasing of each other. Pam always imagined he was like that with his brothers but they seemed to torment rather than tease, the two older boys versus the younger Jim. She listened in on the boys chatting.

"Remember when we were fifteen and we had to paint your mom's shed as punishment for writing graffiti in the girl's bathroom?" Reminisced Jim armed with a paint roller.

"Yeah, she made us wear those gas mask things in case we got high off the fumes and got hooked on solvents." Mark responded dryly with no embarrassment. He was carefully painting around the plug sockets and light switches; he was a guy with a perfectionist streak.

Pam's eyes went wide each time she got a new little titbit about Mark's childhood. Jim really had saved him when they moved in together; she was overprotective to the point of madness. She was half expecting a story where poor Mark had literally been wrapped in cotton wool, just his dark chocolate curls poking out the top.

"Do you think she ever found the message you wrote on it?"

"Nah, she'd still make me repaint it if she found it today." He spoke with no irony, he was serious.

"What did you write on it?" Pam asked, curious as to what classed as rebellion for Mark.

Mark barked a laugh, "I wrote 'It was worth it.'"

"Was it?"

"Oh yeah, we drew a picture of the biggest asshole in our school, also known as the high school quarterback, in a tutu, tiara, holding a wand. I almost got suspended but they sent me to  
the school counsellor instead. The quarterback ended up being called Sugar Plum for the rest of the school year. That and he stopped that nasty habit of punching and pushing kids into the girl's bathrooms too."

"You did your fellow students a service then?" She thought that the reason he got sent to the counsellor rather than suspended was because they all knew his mom.

"I like to think so."

It struck her that in her high school the quarterback was Roy. She shuddered inside.

"So what happened to you, Jim?"

Jim refreshed his roller of paint and talked as he worked. "Oh, I didn't get caught and Mark wouldn't rat me out even though they were pressuring him like crazy." Jim gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I still helped him with his mom's punishment though; after all, I came up with the idea and I did add the glitter to Mark's artistry."

"Ah," Mark said fondly, "that was the icing on the cake; we should have taken a picture."

"We could recreate it on Pam's wall." Jim suggested, spying Pam out the corner of his eye.

"It would add a little class don't you think?" Mark agreed before patting down his pockets, "Where's my neon pink marker pen nowadays."

"Don't get any ideas! Get back to work." Pam pretended to crack the whip. She also had one last question. "Where's the quarterback now?"

"Army, I think, or the navy, one of those, something to do with navigation." Mark shrugged.

"Oh, sounds like he did ok."

"Yeah, probably would still kick my ass if he saw me but as far as I know he's a decent guy but we're all different people than we were in high school, you can't really hold that against a person."

Pam agreed and picked up a roller to help Jim out again. Mark's words hit home, she and Roy hadn't changed that much after high school as adults. It only made Pam feel that their break up had been good for both of them. She half wondered if she'd been at the same high school as Jim and Mark, whether the three of them would have been friends. Isobel wouldn't have given happy-go-lucky Mark the time of day back then, goth poets and tortured teenage cynics were her cup of tea, but Pam liked to think that she would have been drawn to the nerdy boys and their antics, even as shy as she was in her small art clique.

They continued to slick on her specially selected ivory coloured paint which would make her accent wall of cocoa blush look chic, elegant and cosy. No compromises, it was exactly how she wanted it. She stood back to admire her work. "I think we're almost there."

"It looks nice, very girly." Jim contributed tongue-in-cheek.

"Just 'cause it's not blue doesn't mean it's girly. It anything it's boyish because it's a brown-y colour."

"Pretty much any colour that has 'blush' in its name is girly."

Pam scowled and thought about it; he had her beaten with that point. Not before long Mark's cell phone rang and he excused himself to the hallway. Pam and Jim set down their rollers.

Not a word was spoken. Pam eyed up Jim. Jim eyed up Pam. With challenge in her eyes she ran her hand down the roller, covering it in paint. Jim did the same. The unspoken call of battle  
led them to duel. Jim launched first to swipe the ivory paint on an equally ivory cheek but missed leaving Pam well balanced to put a perfect dot on the end of his nose before darting away under his arm.

"Ha, ha! One nil to me." Pam called out triumphantly.

"You don't stand a chance Beesly." He stared her down passionately with those beautiful green eyes sparkling with mischief.

She arched an eyebrow. "Bring it on, Halpert."

"Oh, I will."

He waited for a beat then launched at her, leaping deftly over the table and caught her in his grasp. Her only recourse was merciless tickling, covering his t-shirt in paint. She slipped free but squealed when she was soon caught again, his strong arm looped easily around her waist.

"Gotcha." He growled. They both laughed and giggled raucously as they fought to cover each other with as much paint as possible, fingers and paint spots covered the plastic sheeting protecting the floor and Pam's belongings. It wasn't long before they tumbled over on to the floor with a thud. "Ouch."

"Hmm, I'm ok, I landed on you." She smiled and giggled impishly, earning herself a stripe between her eyebrows. She leant down and kissed him, keeping him trapped beneath her but he was making no move to escape. She didn't care that he was putting paint in her hair when he caressed the back of her head.

"God, leave you two alone for a minute!" The paint covered couple turned to look at an incredulous Mark standing above them. "I thought one of you must be dead when the noise stopped." Jim and Pam said nothing and clambered off the floor.

"Uh, so final bit of painting then pizza, sushi or Indian food?" Pam thought she'd moved the conversation along. Mark turned his head so sharply away from her it looked painful. "What?"

Jim looked at her and then down at her t-shirt. Pam followed where he was staring. There was one Jim-sized handprint over her breast. She covered herself with folded arms and looked up to glare at Jim who looked almost proud of his work and was stifling a laugh.

"Uh, I'll be back in a second." Pam skipped quickly into her bedroom and put on a fresh t-shirt. Before she rejoined the boys she picked up the old one a held it up. She let a small smirk creep to her lips at the visual representation of that side of their relationship. She liked that they could barely keep their hands off each other. She had no idea how they lasted at work with just elicit little touches or an occasional meet up in the empty utility room one floor down. Pam was feeling much closer to the point where she could take things further, she'd imagined it enough, maybe she'd suggest a romantic meal at her place next weekend...

...*...

Back in the living room Mark was first to break the silence after Pam's quick exit to her bedroom.

"Shameless dude, shameless." Chastised Mark with a smirk and a shake of the head.

"I know, I know. Who was on the phone?"

"Mom, her ears must have been burning. Apparently someone from her book club saw me and Is having dinner last night."

Mark had already updated Jim on the main details of his date with Isobel last night. They'd gone for Greek food and then Mark had chosen a weird subtitled film that Isobel had mentioned on their last date. It had gone well; Mark had told him he really felt like he was falling for her which was scaring him senseless but nowhere near enough to stop him.

"Oh... what did you say?"

"Well by the time I decided to lie I'd been quiet so long it was basically an admission. I still tried to tell her it was a business meeting but this woman saw us splitting dessert."

"God, are you being stalked?"

"Yep, by a sixty-year-old woman called Irene too." Mark looked decidedly glum. "And it was going so well too."

"Just because your mom knows doesn't have to effect anything, I can run interference just like I always do, stop her finding things out."

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, I've told Isobel about her during our first date, we discussed loads of personal stuff, but there's hearing about it and being exposed to it. I didn't tell my mom her name or her job so she can't look her up which buys me some time but it won't be long until mom's showing up or has me tailed or something."

"Mother's huh?"

"Heard from yours?"

"No, but Pete rang and called me a douche which was nice of him." Jim said cheerfully if utterly sarcastically.

"Good to hear he's as eloquent as ever." Mark replied dryly, he was all too familiar with the older Halpert brothers.

"He just got mom's side of the story. He was cool when I told him about Pam though, even said he was happy for me without me having to push for it. I guess he'll tell Tom, not that I'm that worried what he thinks, he'll just be happy I'm being 'normal' and 'settling down.'" Jim loved his brothers, but he didn't really get them and they've never gotten him, even as adults. Tom was a lot like their mom in many ways.

Pam joined them wearing a fresh white tee and a clean face. Jim watched her cheeks blush when she met Mark's eyes for the first time. He mouthed 'sorry' at her and pulled an apologetic face as sweetly as he could. When Pam smiled back he thought that maybe he was a lot like his dad.

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed this, I really love writing these days that feel like they are just living their lives and being together. **


	31. Chapter 31

**A midweek escapade for Jim and Pam. Enjoy.**

**

* * *

****  
Chapter Thirty-One: Thursday Lunch-Time**

Jim unveiled his ham and cheese sandwich, this time with lettuce and cucumber. He thought he should try and eat more healthily now he had someone worth keeping in shape for, someone who'd hopefully be naked with soon. That and Danny had mocked both him and Mark for their skinny physiques during their first boxing lesson last Tuesday night. Jim didn't think he was that bad, but he reasoned he could do a bit more and broaden his horizons and shoulders.

He was waiting for Pam to finish on the phone before joining him for lunch. So far he had the table to himself. Stanley, Oscar and Kevin were sat on one table discussing garden furniture and Angela and Toby were talking about Angela's favourite topic, cats. Dwight had chosen to eat standing up, hovering around Angela and Toby with a suspicious look that wasn't worth investigating, he was eavesdropping that was for sure, but Jim didn't care why. He hadn't been able to sneak any time with Pam all day and it was driving him crazy. Between the phone and Michael, Pam had been rushed off her feet.

Kelly bounded in and skipped over to Jim. "Hey Jim!"

"Hey Kelly." Jim tried not to let his annoyance that she'd taken Pam's seat show, after all, she knew a big secret that he intended on keeping for as long as possible. "How things?"

"A-may-zing!" She began, Jim knew this would be a long one but hopefully Pam would save him before it got too mind numbing. "I just got Ryan the coolest birthday present ever! So I was totally shopping online just now because has $20 off if you spend $100 and I can like totally do that in my sleep so I got some new skinny jeans, this totally hot new dress that is so Lindsey Lohan before she went to prison but after she got her lips done, and these new high heels that are just like the ones that Pam wore on your... business meeting..." She grinned at Jim who gave her the look of grateful appreciation she was looking for before she took a deep breath and continued. "And then I was thinking that Gwen Stefani is totally hot and her clothing line is so hot even though it's called Lamb but that stands for Love, Angel, Music, Baby which is so cool so I got to thinking I should totally get Ryan a t-shirt from one of the bands he likes..."

Jim glazed over, he could see Kelly's lips moving but he could no longer comprehend what she was saying. He thought she mentioned something about Metallica but then she was talking about Maroon 5 which just didn't make sense. He told himself to focus, Kelly was harmless and supported Pam but god she was now describing how the lead singer from The Strokes styles his hair and he considered choking himself on his sandwich.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Pam interrupted Kelly who'd launched into a debate with herself over how skinny a t-shirt a guy can get away with before he looks gay. Jim's eyes had the look of a traumatised man pleading for rescue. Pam smothered a giggle and rolled her eyes. "Michael has five deadlines to meet and Jan is checking in on him every half hour."

"I was just telling Jim about the birthday present I got Ryan, oh I've got to show you what I just bought on Bluefly, the hottest jersey dress in blue that you've ever seen-"

"I'll come over to your desk after lunch." Pam looked kindly at her friend. "Ryan was looking for you, he's in the kitchen."

Without another word Kelly abandoned Jim and Pam and dashed to the kitchen like a woman possessed.

"Hey." Pam beamed.

"Hey." Jim beamed back. How no one had cottoned to their relationship by now was a mystery, the looks they shared were far from friendly or even flirty. Jim wanted to be a gentleman and wait for Pam to say when she was ready to take the next step but he was spending most of the day with so little blood in his brain that it must be doing damage. All he wanted to do was to pull her into that supply closet, rip off every strip of clothing she had on and take her standing up with her legs wrapped around his waist until she-.

"Jim?"

"Yeah?"

"You did not hear a word I just said did you?"

"I did... you were talking about... work..." He judged her expression and hazarded another guess. "Last night's Law and Order rerun?"

"Nice try. Actually, those were terrible tries."

He leaned forward so no one would over hear. "Well you shouldn't look so gorgeous, what am I supposed to do?"

"Pure thoughts Halpert. This is a place of business." She blushed. "Are we still on for this Saturday at my place?"

"Yeah, Mark's gonna cook for Is at ours that night, they're going out tonight as well."

"Midweek date?" Pam raised her eyebrows, midweek dates had been a regular occurrence for them but they both felt further along in their relationship. "Looks like things are going well."

"Mark's playing it down but he's bought four new shirts and he's all jittery."

"Yeah, every time Isobel gets a text I can tell if it's from him because she does this twinkly little laugh and spends fifteen minutes replying even if it's to write 'lol'."

"Yeah, fifteen minutes is over the top. I spend a maximum twelve minutes replying to you." Jim moved closer so their knees were touching and the supply closet daydream appeared back in his thoughts. He didn't even bother imagining ripping her clothes off, this time she was already naked and so was he. Soon his daydream transported them to his bed and he was lying on top, hard and...

"Jim!"

"Sorry, um, what were you saying?"

"What's up with you today?" She said knowing all too well where Jim's head had gone. "As I was saying, my couch is being delivered tomorrow-"

They were interrupted by a face neither Jim nor Pam had seen in a while, not even in passing.

"Hey Pam?" Said Roy. He'd lost weight since Jim had last seen him. He felt secure in his relationship with Pam but he still wanted to punch Roy in the face with all his boxing skill. Considering he only had two hours of training he reverted back to his punching with a brick fantasy. It felt far too good to be healthy but Roy had his chance with Pam and just having him around was too big of a reminder of the old days. "We need you downstairs." Roy continued unaware of Jim's blood filled thoughts.

"Why?" A couple of months ago Pam would have just obeyed what Roy said, this time she kept neutral and asked a question. Jim felt proud.

"Michael."

"Oh god, what's he done? Seriously, I'm not moving unless he's broken a limb."

"Actually, I think he has. You need to come down; you're the only one he'll let look at him."

"I should be paid more for this crap." She muttered under her breath. It was unspoken but Jim followed her down without protest from Pam. Roy knew they were dating and was keeping it quiet but it didn't stop him looking annoyed that Jim had joined them. Jim also noticed that Dwight had disappeared before Roy showed up, surely if he knew Michael was injured he'd be down in a shot. This was something he could taunt him with later, how Dwight failed his boss and brought shame on the title of Assistant to the Regional Manager.

They heard Michael's wailing before they got inside the warehouse. "Oh God! I think the bone has punctured the skin!" he yelled before more wailing. When they finally reached him they found him lying on the floor between the aisles of shelving. Pam bent down at his side like a mother.

"What happened, Michael?"

"It wasn't my fault." He sobbed.

"Just tell me what you did, what did you hurt?" She spoke like he was a child but it ceased the wailing.

Daryll filled them in. "He tried to jump from the top of one of the shelving units to the other even though I told him it was unsafe and stupid."

"God, you fell over twenty feet on to concrete?" Jim stated in shock, this could actually be quite bad.

"He won't let anyone touch him." Daryll said deadpan, Jim could understand why he hardly cared, nothing good ever came from Michael's visits to the warehouse.

"Paaaaam." He grabbed on to Pam's arm desperately like a dying man. "You must see the damage, I warn you, it's probably quite bad and may scar you for the rest of your life Pam, I'm  
being as brave as I can." He half wept.

"Ok, Michael I'm prepared, show me."

Michael pointed to his right ankle. Pam peered over her shoulder at Jim for a little moral support before pulling his trouser leg slowly back. "Wow, hairy."

"Is it bad? It's bad isn't it?" Michael had his eyes scrunched shut and was panting like a woman in labour.

Jim leaned over and took a closer look. Michael's ankle, which _was _surprisingly hairy, was extremely swollen and starting to bruise dark purple. It didn't look great.

"You're going to need to go to hospital Michael, it's swelling up."

"Oh god, I'm going to need an amputation!"

...*...

Pam pulled up outside the hospital. She'd done everything she could not to be the nominated person to take her injured boss. She would have staked money on Dwight wanting to take him but when Michael put him in charge of the office he refused to leave. Maybe Jim was having a worse time than she was.

"I'll need a gurney, like on ER."

"I'll see about a wheel chair Michael, that's it." She wondered if they'd give him some painkillers while they waited. Or at least give her a sedative. After some whimpering from Michael they got sat down and Pam handed Michael his forms to fill in.

"I can't write."

"Did you hurt your hand?" Pam knew his hand was fine, he'd used both of them to rifle through everything in her car.

"Too... much... pain..."

"Ugh." She huffed with little sympathy. She reminded herself that his ankle looked a mess, even worse now the swelling was still spreading down his shoeless and sockless foot. "Give it here."

She filled in as much as she could, she was surprised how much she knew, even his allergy to penicillin.

"Any pre-existing medical conditions?"

"Soft teeth and... occasional, no, rare, erectile dysfunction."

Jim could not possibly be having a worse time than she was.

"I don't think that's pertinent to your foot." She struggled to speak, vomit threatening to rise up her throat.

"It happens to every guy once in a while..."

Pam's brain was immediately conjuring up images of Michael in bed. Naked. God, no.

"You don't have to say any more, really. Don't."

"I just get nervous-"

"Please stop!" She caught Michael's hurt expression but her mind was now thinking about his penis and it had to stop before the visualisation became too vivid. "It's personal, you don't have to tell me this, I mean, that's curable nowadays anyway." She didn't understand why she'd engaged the conversation. She had to make an excuse to leave.

"Yeah, but if you take it too early then your date is like, whoa!"

"I've gotta call the office, see how Dwight's doing." Pam sprinted out of the waiting room before she'd finished the sentence and into the parking lot. She fumbled for her phone and dialled Jim's extension.

"Jim Halpert."

"Say sane things to me."

"Dwight's fired me twice, paper is dull and you can kick my ass at Project Gotham Racing with your eyes closed."

It was just what she needed. Jim was always her port in the storm of Michael's craziness.

"Michael over shares." She said flatly.

"Do I want to know?"

"You really, really don't."

"Well things here are running with the efficiency of a Romanian dictatorship. Do you think you'll be back before the end of the day?"

"It's not too busy here but I think he'll need a cast so probably not."

"They have a good fracture clinic, my dad went to that one when he broke his arm and he's as much of a pain in the ass as Michael when he's hurt, just in a different and less tearful way."

"In his defence he did stop sobbing on the way over but he was possibly dehydrated. I feel bad though; it does actually look really bad."

"Remember how he did it; he was trying to jump shelves at least twenty feet up, maybe thirty. This is a man that can be outdone athletically by Kevin."

"True. Hey, maybe his leather skirted mom will come and look after him?"

"As long as it's not you. Do you want to come over to mine tonight? Thought I could cook for you. You'll need taking care of after today and that happens to be one of my favourite things to do."

Pam's heart fluttered. Thought of Michael and his flaccid penis were now miles away.

"That sounds beyond amazing. I'll bring dessert."

"Mmmm, something with lemon."

"Sure, does my boyfriend require anything else?"

"Just you and maybe those jeans you wore on our first date. The heels too."

"Don't let anyone over hear you!" She whispered like that would make a difference from her end.

"It's ok, Dwight's in Michael's office measuring for a new desk and Phyllis and Stanley are eating their supposedly secret cake in the break room. Oh, and Creed's fallen asleep."

"Who's on reception?"

"Ryan but he and Kelly are making out in the annex and I swear I saw Toby watching."

"Ew."

"Yeah."

"So what time do you want me tonight?"

"Just come over when you like. Uh oh, Dwight incoming."

Pam could hear them tussling for the phone and Dwight firing Jim for the third time that day before the phone rang off. She rang Jan and updated her. Jan said unless she had X-Rays showing a broken bone Michael would be reprimanded. Pam neglected to tell her how he got injured; she'd leave that pleasure for Michael.

Pam waited a few more minutes to see if Jim would call back but to no avail. She sighed. She'd have to go back inside or call Dwight. On reflection Dwight was probably the better option but she ventured inside regardless.

By the time she got back inside Michael was being wheeled into an examination room. She knew this because Michael was yelling her name. After an examination that took twice as long as it should have due to Michael's complaining they were sent off by the exasperated doctor to the X-ray department.

They made themselves comfortable in the X-ray waiting room where another older couple in their late fifties sat, the man with his arm already in a cast. Pam smiled politely and prayed that Michael wouldn't alienate them in the first few seconds. Fortunately the doctor had prescribed some painkillers which had placated him slightly.

"You know who would be hot if she tried? Angela." He slurred.

"I'm not discussing that with you, Michael." She knew from experience that the conversation would end up about how she should wear lower cut tops and shorter skirts. Now she'd seen his mom she had a whole new perspective on why he liked that look.

"I'm just saying. You know, you've looked nicer lately, less of those horrible blouses that hide your-"

"Michael." She hissed between grit teeth. "Why don't you tell me about when you went to magic camp?" Pam knew that would keep him busy for a while and she could let her imagination wander. He was describing how he was taught to regurgitate a brass key when Michael and the man with his arm in a cast were ushered away by two nurses.

Pam sighed in relief that Michael was gone.

"You're good with him, dear." Said the older woman sweetly. She was dressed conservatively but smartly with her salt and pepper hair in a short bob.

"Thanks, he's my boss."

"Really? I thought he was... you know... uh, special." She whispered the last word even though they were alone. Pam chuckled silently.

"Oh he's on vicodin. Nasty break." Michael mistaken for... special? If only she knew, Pam thought.

"Ah, that makes sense."

"I'm Pam."

"Betsy. Nice to meet you. So where do you work?"

"Dunder Mifflin, it's a paper company." It was rare to bump into any one who knew what Dunder Mifflin did so she was surprised to see Betsy nodding her head.

"Yes, I've heard of it. Are you his PA?"

"Receptionist officially but PA, counsellor, stylist, you name it and I probably do it."

"Why?" The woman looked perplexed which Pam found amusing.

"Good question! It's not my dream job but I actually have fun most days, the people are great even if some of them are annoying and we are kinda like a family, a dysfunctional one, but a family none the less." Pam, felt like the questions had been one sided which worried her that she was coming across as rude and self-centred. "What do you do?"

"I manage a care home for the elderly, so are you and your boss involved romantically?"

"What? No! No, no, no." She was protesting too much but there really couldn't be enough declining of that statement. "I'm seeing someone at work, he's pretty wonderful actually."

"That's nice dear, what's he like?" The older woman was leaning forward now, sizing Pam up where she sat. Pam guessed she was just a little nosy and wanted to kill some time.

"Well, he's so, so smart, really sharp and clever and we've got the same slightly twisted sense of humour, we just seem to make each other laugh all the time. I draw him pictures and hide them in his desk which always makes him smile and he'll leave me these really funny voice mails. He's supportive of my art classes that start in September too. We can talk about anything with each other from serious stuff to just plain weird but we can just be quiet sometimes and be in each other's company. He's strong, unbelievably romantic and sweet but I know he's got faults too. We get each other but then we were best friends for years before we fell in love but I still get butterflies around him."

"You're in love?" She sounded shocked which confused Pam.

"Yeah, we are, it's still early days when you think in terms of years but I just can't imagine being with anyone else. Ever." She swore she could see tears in the eyes of the older woman.

"Well that's lovely dear, I can tell from the way you talk that you care very much about him." Her formally stern exterior melted into something much warmer.

"Are you here with your husband?"

"Yes, he's having an X-ray to check how his arm is healing; hopefully it'll be good news before I have to beat him with his own arm." She said humorously deadpan.

Pam laughed; she hardly expected that kind of humour from someone called Betsy, she seemed so stern at the beginning too.

"Good luck, men don't make the best patients."

They chatted a little longer; Pam learnt that Betsy liked to cook solely with organic food and spent a while explaining the virtues of home grown carrots and Pam told her about her art classes and her family. They were discussing their Fourth of July plans when Betsy's husband arrived back.

"Healing fine, I'm booked in to have my cast removed in two weeks. If you're nice they'll let you wield the saw."

"Can't come quick enough." Betsy was back to being stern but her husband took little notice.

"Yes, I've been wanting to convert the loft space." He grinned and tried to rub his hands together with glee. Pam could tell he was trying to push her buttons and she instantly liked the man.

"Don't you dare!" She waved her fist before smiling herself. Betsy completely transformed when she smiled, she looked ten years younger and her face lit up. She turned to Pam with the same smile. "It was lovely to meet you Pam, I'm sure our paths will cross again."

"Our son is dating a girl called Pam." Said the older man whose name she still didn't know.

"Yes, well I hope your boss recovers quickly, he looks like a handful."

They both said goodbye and Betsy gave Pam a fond look before leaving, husband in tow. It wasn't long until Michael emerged. He was even dopier than before and needed a splint, he  
was too swollen for a cast yet. The day just got a lot longer.

* * *

**So no prizes for figuring out who Betsy's related to but it's given her something to think about. **

**I'm writing again post-Christmas but my husband bought me Fallout: New Vegas so I keep getting distracted... lol, imagine if The Office was set in a vault and Jim and Dwight had to go out into the wastes for supplies... or to rescue Pam and Angela... Michael as the Overseer... Dwight as Assista****nt to the Overseer...**** awesome.**


	32. Chapter 32

**So there are warnings for this chapter. Sexy warnings. **

**E****njoy.  
**

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**Chapter Thirty-Two: Thursday Evening**

"How do I look?" Asked Mark wearing his third choice of shirt. Jim was preparing carrots in the kitchen for his meal with Pam. Mark was decidedly sweaty and nervous, smoothing out his shirt repeatedly and shifting from foot to foot.

Jim quickly assessed the shirt. "The second one looked better."

"Really? Wasn't too preppy?"

"It's not like you're wearing a sports jacket and a cravat or something, it looked nice."

"Uh huh. Yeah, yeah, ok, I'm fine." He was quiet for a beat while a moment of intense thought passed behind his eyes and then dashed back up stairs to change again.

Pam had called a little while ago after she'd dropped off Michael at his house. Not before taking him grocery shopping and picking up his pain meds. She sounded exhausted; hopefully she wouldn't fall asleep before dinner.

"What about this one?"

"That's your first one."

"This one has a little pin stripe in it."

"Yeah, still like the second one best." Jim shrugged as Mark grabbed a glass of water with a shaking hand and gulped it down.

"Ok, I'll wear that one."

"Dude relax, you've been out with her before, you talk on the phone all the time."

"Yeah, but..."

"Oh." Jim cottoned on. "You think tonight you might..."

"Maybe. I mean it's a week night but she's got tomorrow morning off and I've got some flexitime built up so I can go in a little late too if I weren't to, you know, wake up at home. It just  
feels like it might be on the cards, that's all."

"Just be prepared man." Jim knew that Mark would be safe, but it was always worth mentioning.

"Always am." Mark took a big breath. "God, I'm so freaking nervous, it's kinda been a while. They haven't changed it, have they?"

"I didn't get a memo. Just relax and go with it, see where the night takes you."

"I'll remember that for when you're freaking out about sleeping with Pam."

"I don't freak because I'm an amazing lover." Jim said with macho bravado.

Mark snorted. "It doesn't count when you're on your own." Jim threw a carrot at Mark who was laughing hard. "Oh the look on your face! Priceless!"

Jim would have found it funny if only it hadn't been so true lately.

"Go change," he ordered. "You've gotta leave in five minutes."

Mark double checked his watch. "Shit. I'll be right back."

Jim finished with his carrots and now everything he needed to do was cook. He had a couple gammon steaks with pineapple ready to go in the pan and potatoes ready to go on the boil.  
Hopefully Pam would like the simple home cooking but after an afternoon with Dwight in charge he was pretty tired too. He opened some red wine to breathe, something his dad taught him to do but he had no idea why, and tried to relax on the couch.

He didn't know why but he was getting nervous. Pam had been over to his place loads of times but this was the first time he'd cooked for her. If she'd stayed to eat before but they'd gotten takeout and a few of the times Mark was there too. He wanted to impress her because he still felt the need to be better than Roy, to prove to her she made the right choice.

Mark burst back in looking more of a wreck than before. "How'd I look now?"

"Great, you got on clean underwear?" Mark responded only with a withering look of derision. "Then you're set man, go have a nice night and don't worry. You don't have to do anything if you don't want to." Jim reassured him the best he could.

"Oh I want to, believe me, I'm just nervous." Jim could understand why he was extra anxious; having someone cheat on you doesn't do your confidence in your ability the world of good.

"That's natural, just don't get drunk, you know, cause of the jiggling." Jim threw him a teasing smile and Mark laughed a few of his nerves away.

"Thanks, I'll um, see you when I see you. Have a great night with Pam."

"Will do, good luck."

Jim sat with a cup of coffee and waited for Pam to arrive. An envelope with her name written on the front was sat on the coffee table. He'd been in two minds about showing it to her since their first official date but tonight he thought he'd finally bite the bullet. He could have just forgotten all about it and pretend he'd never written that card but unlike the hundreds of late night emails he wrote this somehow felt like it would become a secret. It was the closest he'd ever come to telling her. He always disconnected his wireless when he wrote his emails; it was more of a ritual on those bad days than something he'd ever intended to do. He had every intention of that card being the real deal. But he bottled it. He choked.

He didn't know what he expected from Pam when she read it. Maybe he didn't need a reaction, just for her to know that he wanted her. Christmas wasn't that long ago, little over six months, so it wouldn't be too weird for her to read that he was in love with her back then. At least he hoped it wouldn't be weird, he'd hinted heavily at that fact. He couldn't back down again, all she had to do was read it then that ghost wouldn't be tucked away, the symbol of his inability to tell her how he felt, his cowardice in paper form. It had become so much more than just a card.

...*...

Pam knocked on Jim's front door after the longest day she'd had in a long time. She'd had time to quickly head home and change out of her work clothes; she hated the smell of hospitals with a passion, she hadn't had a terrible experience, she just hated that antiseptic smell. She'd forgotten dessert too but Mark had a stash of cookie dough mix in the fridge which she could replace later.

Jim opened the door in casual jeans and t-shirt looking good enough to eat after a day with an injured Michael. He had bare feet too; she loved his feet, she called them his big hairy man feet.

"How can you look that good after a day at hospital with Michael?"

"How can you sell so much paper and be that bad a liar?" She walked in and head straight for the couch before collapsing on it dramatically and slumping her head on the arm.

"You still look good. Hungry yet?"

"I can wait." Pam spied an envelope on the coffee table with her name written on it in Jim's distinctive handwriting. Few flourishes but she could always tell when something was written by his hand. "Is that for me?"

"Yeah, it's your Christmas card that was supposed to be with your Secret Santa."

"That's weird, I swore my teapot came with a card but I couldn't find it, I just assumed Dwight had disposed of it." She sat up straight and took the card. Jim sat next to her but further away than usual, he seemed a little tense and stiff. "Can I open it now? It's June but I can pretend it's cold, some Nat King Cole is playing and I've eaten way too many mince pies."

"Sure. Um, it's –uh, yeah."

"You ok?" She giggled. "You're all jittery like you've had too much coffee or something." Jim didn't reply but Pam didn't register any significance and opened the envelope. She pulled out a card with a large intricate silver snowflake embossed on the front. She opened it up. There was a lot more writing than she was expecting, starting on the left hand side. She glanced at Jim who was biting his lip and looking away from her slightly.

_Pam,_

_Merry Christmas! I hope you recognise everything inside the teapot as they're all memories from the last couple of years, the mixed tape is my original version we talked about, you're welcome to borrow my old walkman if you don't have a tape player because you can't miss out on those classics! Everything in that teapot is really important to me not just because you're my best friend but because you're so much more to me. They say that Christmas is the time to tell people how you feel and I think it's about time I told you how I feel. I'm in love you with you. I know that telling you this puts our friendship on the line but if the memories inside the teapot are as important to you as they are to me then I think that we could have something pretty special. I'm not expecting you to make a decision now, but maybe you could think about us. _

_We don't ever have to talk about this if you don't want to, I guess I'll have my answer then. _

_Love, Jim._

She reread one part a couple of times, _...I'm in love you with you..._ She wet her dry lips so she could speak. "You tried-" She started but realised Jim wasn't sat next to her anymore. She got up and found him leaning over the kitchen sink, his head hung low. "Hey." She said as warmly as she could.

"Hey." He didn't turn around. Pam walked slowly behind him and hugged him tightly from behind, pressing her cheek into his back. She felt so tiny compared to him sometimes.

"I love you, I'm not freaking out, I should have worked it out without you having to write it down. That was really brave of you."

"So brave I took it back." He said emptily.

"Turn around." She practically had to pull him round to face her and he wouldn't look at her. "It's ok; it all worked out in the end. You were right; we do have something pretty special." She wasn't sure what to say, she just wanted him to smile at her again.

"Would it have worked?" He was looking at her now; she wasn't sure what she could read in his eyes. There was something inside him that needed to know, a chance to reassess his past mistakes perhaps. They'd only touched on the pre-Breathless times, as she liked to call it, when it came to how he felt about her. There were too many reminders of long nights harbouring unrequited feelings while she was planning her future with Roy.

"I don't know." She said honestly. "I think it had to happen how it did. I had to figure out how I felt, I couldn't be told, even then it took some doing. The timing wasn't right back then. I didn't even believe Penny when she told me I loved you a few weeks ago but she was right."

"I always regretted not giving you that card." He said the words like they were heavy to speak, like a weight had been lifted just to say them out loud to her.

"I understand, but neither of us knows what would have happened, the old me would have hidden from it. We only lost a few months even if it had worked out, does it really matter in the end? We're here now."

"No. Maybe. I don't know, seeing you with someone else was pretty hard some days." Pam sensed that Jim was underplaying it but she didn't push.

"Yeah, I pretty much wanted to rip the lungs out of that woman in that muffin place who was flirting with you last week."

"I knew you were jealous!" He cracked his first small smile since this conversation started. She couldn't imagine loving him as much as she did and then seeing Jim with some other woman. Kissing her, touching her, going home with her, going to bed together. It would hurt like nothing on earth. How did Jim do it and not crack up?

"Intensely. I thought she was going to write her number on the box. Muffin slut." They both laughed quietly and Pam kissed him and hopefully the worry away.

"Sorry I got so worked up, I think I built it up in my head, I wanted to tell you loads of times but that was the closest I ever came."

"Come sit on the couch with me." Pam led him back and they sat together, Pam with one foot tucked beneath so she could face him. He still looked a little on edge, his brow furrowed slightly. "You've got a way with words, you know." She wondered briefly if that declaration _would_ have been enough to make her see the light. Even the way they got together in the end was a little messy, but everything he wrote was true, everything in that teapot meant the world to her. From the hot sauce packet to his high school picture, she felt more for him than an engaged person should have back then. It wasn't love, but it had potential. Potential they'd finally realised at long last.

"Thanks, just don't ask me to write you poetry, I can't stand poetry and I've always sucked at writing it."

"I guess lyrics are more your thing." She moved to sit astride his thighs and rested her hands on his chest. It was really uncomfortable in her tight jeans, the material felt like it was cutting the blood off from the tops of her thighs downwards but she could put up with it for a little while. Her eyes were drawn to his lips as he spoke, all she wanted was to kiss him again, to blank out everything except him.

"Yeah, I guess you know that about me. So you're ok with me showing you that?" He pointed to the card resting on the table. "I just needed to get it out my system or out of my sock drawer at the least."

"Can I keep it?"

"If you want." He let his hands rest on her legs and he started to move them sinuously, tracing up the insides and down the outside. She felt that delicious warmth spread through her body and thought that maybe his mind wasn't on the past anymore either.

"I do." She barely breathed the words before finding her lips on his at last. Now her jeans were really starting to hurt as a band of material dug into her legs but she kept going as her hands dove into his hair and her tongue found its way to deepen the kiss like she wanted to since she read that card. There was something about reading the words _'I'm in love with you'_ in his handwriting that made her feel high and she wanted to wrap herself up in this man. She shifted on his lap trying to find comfort and accidently slid sharply forward, bending something that in its current half-mast state did not flex that way.

"Aagghh..." His face contorted with sharp pain and the rest of his shout caught somewhere in his throat.

"Sorry." She shifted again and looked apologetic. She didn't want to have spoilt what they'd started so slipped her hand down and rubbed his growing length with the palm of her hand. It was the first time she'd touched him there apart from just feeling him against her body when they made out. "Better?" She could hardly believe she said that word in that wanton tone of voice but Jim made her feel unselfconscious.

"Mmmm, yea... much..." He closed his eyes and gulped hard letting his head fall against the back of the couch.

Pam continued to feel him while kissing his exposed neck, tracing him as best she could from root to tip as he hardened to her touch but through jeans it was difficult to learn him. "We're alone tonight?" She asked, the meaning of her words not going unnoticed. He nodded, too enraptured in how she was stroking him to speak. She didn't want these barriers anymore; she wanted to feel him, all of him. She was ready to take that step. She could feel herself responding and beginning to get the wonderful ache that needed to be touched away. Taking a proactive move she grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it. Jim obliged and the tee was discarded to the floor.

Pam paused for a second to look at what she'd uncovered. It wasn't the first time she'd seen his chest, she'd let her hands explore underneath whenever she could, but she loved to look.

"Why do you always look surprised, Beesly?"

"You have chest hair." She said simply, not taking her dark eyes off him. "Before we got together I never imagined you did and I really like it." Again she heard that voice she barely recognised but Jim loved. She bent down and kissed his chest, loving the way the downy hair tickled her lips but her jeans were really hurting at this angle. Jim must have sensed her pain and she found herself being held tight as he flipped her so she was laying down on the couch with him laying between her legs. "Wow, you can manhandle me." She giggled.

"Should get a longer couch."

She looked over his shoulder to see his feet sticking up at an odd angle over the arm of the chair, it looked painful. She didn't have time to worry as her attention was back on her boyfriend when he lifted her tank top off exposing her chunky plain black t-shirt bra. If she'd known they'd get this far tonight she'd have worn one of her new ones. That thought was soon forgotten too when he deftly undid the clasp and removed the solid construction. He breathed some words which Pam couldn't make out but she couldn't speak when his lips began kissing everywhere but teasingly not her nipples. She'd never had this much attention paid to her like this.

"So good." She sighed, stroking her fingers through his soft hair as his lips and tongue explored her.

He settled and readjusted his weight to free up a hand but-.

"Ow, ow, ow, you're on my hair." She winced.

"Sorry." He moved his palm and Pam tried to make space but ended accidently head butted him with a heavy thunk and a couple of curse words. The mood broken slightly they burst out into hysterical laughter for a moment before Pam's gentle caresses down his back snapped them back into reality. "Um, would you like to come upstairs with me?"

There was no doubt in her mind. "Yeah." She drew him down into one more probing kiss, his tongue lazily taking it's time like they were in no rush. She pushed up a little so his hardness rubbed against her, they both gasped at the sensation. She couldn't remember the last time she was this on edge and she was still wearing jeans. "I'll try not to accidently wound you."

"Always something to aim for." He kissed down her neck, taking a little nip which took her by happy surprise. "I'll try not to rip out your hair again but I can't guarantee no concussions." When he smiled down on her she felt her breath quicken even more. He had this power over her; he could melt brain cells and turn her into aroused putty. "You are amazingly beautiful." He whispered as he rubbed his nose with hers. She had to get upstairs now.

"Can you move ok?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so." He struggled to lift himself up from his awkward position without hurting her and pulled Pam up with him and in for another kiss, they laughed when they roughly clashed teeth. "We need more practice." He said, muffled by kisses. "Follow me." He took her by the hand without taking his eyes off her and head for the door.

Then it happened so fast, they'd only taken a few steps when Jim's big hairy man feet became tangled in the t-shirt and bra they'd thrown on the floor. She watched helplessly as he put his hands out to break his fall but that was pointless when his forehead connected with the door handle knocking him out cold.

"Jim! Jim, wake up." She turned his unconscious body over and saw his bloodied gash. "Oh god..."

* * *

**Please don't hate me! Jim's not badly hurt, I'm not going to put him in a coma or something. After 'The World's Most Perfect First Date' it just would have been unrealistic for their first time to be mind blowingly awesome too. The next chapter comes with warnings too (of the naked kind) so this is just a setback. **

**The next chapter will probably be posted at the weekend if it's good a****nd hot**** enough. **


	33. Chapter 33

**Warning for smut! No fake out this time. **

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* * *

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**Chapter Thirty-Three: Thursday Night **

It was two o'clock in the morning by the time the cab dropped them off at Jim's home. An x-ray and a CAT scan later had revealed no major damage, just a nasty cut that needed gluing back together and a concussion. He was a bit disappointed not to get stitches but it was quicker and easier just to get cleaned up and stuck back together. What was more embarrassing was the fact that he'd thrown up in front of her when he finally came to. Now that was a romance killer.

They'd made a detour to Pam's to pick up some clothes and some toiletries as Jim needed to be checked every hour in the night and Mark wasn't home.

This wasn't how this night was supposed to go. Right now they should be laying in each other's arms sweaty and satisfied, not concussed and freaked out that he'd bled all over the carpet while spark out. It was the worst possible timing, everything he'd been dreaming about for years was unfolding before him, he had Pam half naked beneath him on the couch, and he tripped and knocked himself out. It wasn't just an injury, but he'd been unconscious for half an hour and Pam had to call an ambulance. He wasn't above sulking at his bad luck.

Now he wasn't sure where he stood. He wasn't even sure if he should offer to sleep in Mark's bed or whether she'd be ok just cuddling up with him and spending the night. He was hoping for the latter. His head was throbbing but the painkillers the hospital had given him before he left were starting to take the edge off.

Pam gave a wave and a thumbs up to Nick who was stood in his living room window looking concerned. He'd seen the ambulance arrive and offered to go with Pam to the hospital and gave her his cell number too. Jim found out about their meeting later as he was unconscious the whole time. Pam was grateful just to see a friendly face.

"Home, sweet home." Said Pam brightly. Jim didn't know how she could still be so cheerful, she'd spent twelve of the last seventeen hours in hospital. They'd eaten dinner together in the hospital cafeteria so at least they weren't hungry but it was still a disastrous night.

He stumbled in carefully, still a little wobbly on his feet. "Oh my god." Jim spotted where he'd bled on the carpet, there was more than he expected considering how much he had on his t-shirt and jeans.

"Yeah, heads bleed a lot, especially a deep gash like yours." Her tone hid the stress of the night she'd endured and Jim felt another acute stab of guilt.

"I'm so, so, sorry." He couldn't take his eyes off the patterns of blood, the different shapes, the slight imprint of the boot that one of the medics was wearing. No wonder Pam looked so tearful when he finally came round in the emergency room, that must have been terrifying. No one could kill a romantic mood like Jim Halpert, he brooded.

"That's the eighty-fifth time you've apologised, you have to stop now, honey." She tugged on his arm, trying to break his gaze with the carpet. "I'll put dinner in the fridge and I'll help you clean up tomorrow, that carpet isn't going to get any worse, we should just get to bed." She yawned.

He yawned too. He wasn't going to argue, he was feeling sleepy and a little cold too.

After completing their bedtime rituals of teeth cleaning, changing into nightwear and other ablutions Jim watched Pam walk into his bedroom wearing a pair of peach coloured cotton shorts with spots on them and a matching tank top. Jim took in the sight of her and ached to touch all that smooth skin but they were both exhausted. He'd only just managed a shower to wash the blood that had seeped through his t-shirt without falling asleep in there.

He wasn't sure what to suggest regarding sleeping arrangements but when Pam pulled back the covers he didn't need to think anymore. Finally something was going his way, maybe tonight wouldn't be their first time but falling asleep and waking up next to Pam was just as good. Well, almost as good.

"I haven't been in here since the barbeque."

"It's not changed much but I'm liking the addition of you in here."

"Thanks, I go with the drapes." She did the sweetest little curtsey and Jim's head swam. He wasn't entirely sure whether that was down to Pam or the concussion but it felt good. "Do you have a side?"

"Um, er, well I guess the right hand side." That's where he kept his alarm but he usually spread out in the night, sprawled on the bed diagonally. He'd have to break that habit if he was going to be sharing regularly. He toed off the socks he was still wearing and was down to just a pair of loose boxers and a fresh, blood-free t-shirt.

Pam slipped under the covers and Jim got in what was now known as 'his side' which he really liked. He laid on his side facing Pam on hers. Pam touched his forehead, right below the two inch long cut along his hairline on the left side of his forehead.

"I'm so sorry about tonight." He repeated mournfully. They were supposed to be in bed shedding the last of their clothes and making love for the first time; instead Pam would be checking that his brain hadn't imploded and dribbled out his nose every hour.

"Stop apologising Halpert or I'll poke you in the head!"

"Ok, ok, I'll stop. Come 'ere." He pulled her close and lay on his back with her head on his chest. Pam looped a leg over his. "Watch those cold feet, Beesly." She cheekily placed a foot flat against his calf. "God!"

"Man up, you've got to keep my feet warm for a long time now."

"Think I might invest in an electric blanket then." He didn't want to let on that his heart soared every time she mentioned their future, he wanted this forever. When she yawned again he reached out for his lamp and cast them into darkness.

"I've set the alarm on my cell phone to go off every hour, on the hour."

Jim groaned. "You don't have to, I'll be fine, I had a CAT scan."

"You were unconscious for half an hour and you didn't know what day it was so don't argue."

"Fine. It's only because it means I get to fall asleep with you." He let his fingers brush the bare skin of her arm up and down and they both sighed happily.

"Does your head still hurt?"

"Not really, the painkillers have finally kicked in."

"Good." She tilted her head up to kiss him. "Goodnight, I love you."

"Love you too. Goodnight Pam."

Jim wasn't sure if he'd be able to sleep with her so close and their legs entwined but within minutes he was fast asleep.

...*...

Pam's alarm sounded for 4am and she managed to crack open one of her eyes and prod at Jim who'd rolled over on his side. It was only the second time she'd woken up but it was already getting old but at least this time she recognised where she woke up. Being there for Jim was more important than sleep and she actually liked that they were spending the night together without it meaning they had sex. It felt special and she wished she'd suggested it before though she might not have trusted her restraint. It felt right sleeping beside him, warm and secure.

She prodded at Jim again when he didn't respond. "You ok?"

"Yeah, go back t'sleep."

"Pain? Feel sick?" She tried to remember what the hospital had told her to look for.

"I'm fine. Sleep now."

"Ok. Love you."

Satisfied he was ok she spooned behind him and he held her hand around his waist. She wondered if she was made to fit Jim, even with their height difference she felt like set fit perfectly with him. She closed her eyes and sleep took her again without a struggle.

...*...

7am came far too quickly and Pam was nudging him awake again. The morning sunlight was just beginning to creep around the curtains casting a slight glow over the warm room and this time he'd woken up spooning her. Jim noticed that they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, like she was made to snuggle into his body. It was perfect apart from the fact that he was eating her hair a little. He pushed her unruly curls so they became a part of the pillow and held her a little tighter to him, loving the warmth of her body against his.

"You still ok?" She whispered hoarsely.

"More than ok." He felt himself stir against her even in his sleepy state.

"So I feel." She giggled a little which made her body vibrate against him sending tingles of pleasure right through him.

"Mmm." He hummed quietly, getting harder by the second. He sensually kissed her exposed neck and breathed in her scent that reminded him of the beach and a little of the hospital. "You awake?" He gently stroked at her warm exposed belly where her top had ridden up.

"Getting there." She flexed back into him and pushed against his hardness forcing an involuntary moan of pleasure out of him. He could just picture the smile of satisfaction on her face. "I like waking up like this." She ran her fingers through the hair on his forearm, heightening the sensitivity of his skin and making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Me too." He let his hand slide slowly up her belly and over her ribs until his forefinger and thumb met with the rise of her breast, just cupping it, taking it slow. He loved how her breathing sped up in anticipation but he couldn't let himself rush this, they had at most an hour and a half to play with, maybe even all day and the weekend if they called in sick. He didn't know where this might go but he knew he wanted her so badly.

He kissed her neck again, using his tongue too but not his teeth though he loved to nibble and bite a little, he'd only tested that with Pam for the first time last night when he felt himself getting carried away, she seemed to like it but he wasn't going to push his luck.

She sucked in a sharp breath when his fingers slid up and captured her already slightly hard nipple, stroking and circling while his hand massaged her. He knew she liked that already so he was still within his comfort zone. He moved on to the other, playing with her, flooding her senses with featherlike caresses and firmer touches, making her squirm and rub back against his now fully hard erection. God, she felt too good.

He needed to feel her skin against him urgently and tugged at her barely there top, disturbing her reverie but only temporarily. He threw it onto his desk rather than the floor which didn't go unnoticed by Pam who was trying to take off his t-shirt too, feeling the same urgency. There was enough sunlight sneaking into the room so he could see her giggle radiantly as she threw his tee on top of hers and out of harm's way. "I've never loved you more." She smiled.

Those words were too good to hear and not be dreaming. While some men loved to hear their girlfriends talk dirty, Jim just needed to hear that Pam Beesly loved him. The covers fell away as he leant over her and eagerly took her mouth with his, trying to show her how much this meant to him, how much he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and how this would be his last first time with anyone. All the things he wasn't quite brave enough to say but brave enough to feel.

Jim was enraptured in her kiss as Pam's delicate hands were running down his chest and to that line of fuzz that ran from his belly button downwards, just playing and teasing at the ruffled edge of his boxers. Her hand was so close to where he wanted it, he moved his hips towards her hand, letting her know it was ok but he was never one to vocalise what he wanted that often.

Pam broke the kiss watched as she unveiled his straining erection which bobbed slightly before standing hard and glistening against his stomach. He was unabashedly hard. He watched her face for her reaction, suddenly very conscious that he was completely naked and her beautiful green eyes were locked onto him like a hawk studying its prey. She bit her lip and reached out to touch, sweeping her fingers over his sensitive tip before taking him in her hand. He moved with her hand, relishing that Pam was touching him so intimately he let his eyes close so he could just feel. When she boldly tightened her grip he had to stop her.

"Even reciting the price of paper stock won't help if you keep doing that." He teased shyly before Pam could worry he didn't like what she was doing. His lover nodded and smiled before staring down at his manhood for the second time. Jim felt self conscious again and his knee jerk reaction was to make a quip about taking a picture but he'd learnt from past liaisons that making a joke right now wasn't a good idea.

Instead, he broke her stare by trailing kisses down her neck; he wanted to keep focused on her enjoyment, in silent challenge to her past. He made his way down her full breasts, kissing a light brown freckle he'd just discovered and fallen in love with before circling her nipple with a slick, nimble tongue before lightly capturing it between his teeth.

"Oh god!" She cried out with a little surprise.

"Good?" His eyes were full of worry as he looked up at her, hoping he'd not messed up already.

"Good. Yes, very." She said breathlessly, touching tenderly at his stubbled cheek and gazing at him with half-lidded eyes. "More, please." She said like she could only handle simple sentences. He grinned with pride and relief and moved to her other dusky nipple, nipping softly before laving it with his tongue, eliciting soft moans, whimpers and his name as his free hand caressed everywhere it could, legs and hips, savouring every inch of her ivory skin. He could do this all day.

Jim's ministrations were spurred on by Pam's erotic stroking up and down the length of his back she could reach. His skin felt gloriously electrified. Her hands slipped down his flanks, tickling slightly, before reaching for her pyjama shorts.

"Let me." He said, moving her hands away and kissing and licking his way down her body. He ran his hand over the top of them first making Pam's hips flex towards him with need. He could delay no longer and pulled her thin cotton shorts and her panties down in one go, making sure to caress the roundness of her ass that he hadn't yet paid proper attention to yet.

Now it was his turn to stare as he took in everything from her violet painted toenails, to the patch of reddish curls at her centre to the look of open desire in her eyes. He wanted to be the reason for that look for the longest time. It was so overwhelming he had to steady a tremble in his hands from the adrenaline rush.

"Amazing." He breathed to himself as much as Pam.

He lay beside her, moulding his naked body with hers and kissed her passionately, his tongue finding hers as his hand ran up her thigh, her legs parting for him. She moaned wantonly into his mouth and he replied with his own desperate need. He had to touch her and he had to make this perfect. He reached her apex and both of their breathing quickened as he ran his finger slowly up and down through her curls, already damp with her arousal, teasing her open for him and slowly letting his finger sink deeper into her wet heat. He bit the inside of her mouth to stop himself coming just at the feel of her without being touched himself. Pam threw her head back and let out this squeak that Jim adored when he found her clitoris by accident though he'd never admit it wasn't down to pure ability. He brushed over it again and again, marvelling in the reaction that he was getting. His Pam, looking right at him with love and lust, her hair spread out on the pillow looking so much more beautiful than his most erotic dreams because this was really happening.

"Oh my god." She gripped on to his shoulder with her nails, hurting exquisitely. "Jesus Jim, so, so good." She moaned. He knew he could make her come now but he wanted to be inside her for the first time, he just always imagined it that way. He slipped his finger down and pushed slowly inside her, ensuring he didn't hurt her by rushing before adding a second and crooking his fingers a little. She pulsed around his fingers and she made that squeaking noise again. "Sorry." she half laughed but Jim wasn't letting up so she could speak, he loved that he could make her feel what she was feeling. "Ah just... mmmm... really... good." She stammered out bashfully. Jim's ego was bursting. "Do you have a...?"

Jim eyebrows furrowed with confusion until his brain caught up. "Oh, yeah, um, you're ready?"

"Yeah."

He slipped his fingers from her slowly and kissed her before digging out a condom from his bedside drawer with a shaky hand. It was the first time he really felt nervous about what was happening. She surprised him when she took the packet from him and ripped it open. Before she placed it on him she paused, then leant over and licked the pre-cum from his slit.

"G-" His vision blurred and the rest of his cry fell silent but thankfully he didn't lose it, it surely must have been a miracle because that felt too damn good. Pam had a look of sheer devilishness that she knew exactly how close she'd brought him. "God, there's a devil in you Pam." He half growled.

"Couldn't resist." She said simply with that sparkle in her eye before turning her attention back to the condom in her hand.

He'd never had someone else put one on him before and after feeling her tongue on him it took all his will power not to wildly push into her hand, just the feeling of her touching him again was driving him a little crazy.

With their protection in place she kissed him and pulled him over her, settling him between her legs with his upper body weight supported on his elbows either side of her. His heart was beating so hard he could hear it in his own ears. His nerves were bubbling but nothing could stop him now.

He met her eyes for an affirmation that she was ready, those ochre flecked green eyes almost devoured by her pupils and he was sure his were matching. Assured she was ready he held her eye contact as he pressed inside her for the first time. God, it had never felt like this before.

"Ohmygod." He gasped and he thought Pam might have said it too but he was trying to hold on to his sanity. He'd never felt so close to someone like this before, but then he'd never truly loved any of the women he'd slept with before. He'd never wanted anyone as much as Pam before.

Once he gained some composure he pushed deeper still with each measured flex of his hips, watching Pam's face flush and move with pleasure, until he was fully inside her. He dropped his head down so it rested tenderly against Pam's forehead, their breath mixing more rapidly as he set a rhythm.

Pam was making more and more desperate noises and he couldn't resist the urge to thrust harder as he could finally chase that release which wasn't far away. Their breathing became ragged but punctuated with kisses and entangled tongues.

"Harder, faster." She husked, her words demanding but he could more than oblige, the head of bed now knocking into the wall with the force of their passion. "Oh god, Jim. I love you." She panted, her eyes now squeezed shut.

When he felt Pam start to squeeze around his length and her sweetly cry out she was falling over the edge. He'd imagined this moment a thousand times as she came beneath him, her thighs squeezed his and she barely made a sound apart from the softest 'oh' as she trembled and fluttered around him. It was the most beautiful thing Jim had ever seen.

A couple more slightly frantic thrusts later and he came too, trying to smoother a loud growling grunt and her name that was always on the tip of his tongue at this moment, in the crook of her neck. It was Pam, his Pam, he was coming inside Pam.

Bliss.

Some time had passed when Jim eventually lifted his head, which felt as heavy as a bowling ball, to look at the woman he loved.

"Hi." She said blissfully. Jim figured it was something to say and she certainly didn't look disappointed even though it hadn't lasted as long as he'd like. He quelled the urge to ask, figuring it was a bad thing to do for some reason his brain was too spent to think about why.

"Hey."

She closed the gap between them and kissed him, her lips fitting perfectly around his swollen bottom lip. It struck him that he was kissing her while still being inside her and he couldn't believe that his cock twitched, he assumed it must been dead for at least a week after what just happened. For all his nerves, it was amazing.

"Want to cuddle up? Your arms must be tired." She had her arms wrapped around his shoulders in a way that made him feel even closer to her, the look in her eyes one of love.

"Forgot I had arms." He said before kissing her soundly again. He really didn't want to move but he had something he should discreetly dispose of. After sorting out the after sex routine he pulled the covers back over them and held her close, still naked and sweaty from exertion. "I love you my beautiful Pam."

"Mmmm, you should get concussed again." She quipped, still sounding like she was floating. "I love you too, that was pretty awesome."

"Unbelievably awesome." He kissed her forehead with nothing else needing to be said before they both fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**I've never posted anything like this before so I'm quite nervous. I'd really appreciate feedback, what you liked, what you didn't etc. because this won't be the last time I get these two naked! Seriously, anything you can add is great and will help me with future chapters a****nd stories****.**

**I've written (but not published) sex scenes before but I've started at the sex and worked from there (o****ne story I wrote as if Pam had written an erotic story for her creative writing class which Jim 'accidently' reads during season three, that was fun!)**** but this was so much harder because I had to do my Jim and Pam justice, keep them in character without it becoming too jokey but try to capture a few nerves. I also purposefully wrote it all from Jim's point of view. I tried switching half way but it was jarring and I was already wrestling with the flow because I wanted the first time to be detailed but ****not mechanical****. We will find out what Pam thought in the next chapter, including why she was staring!  
**

**So I hope I captured the moment, made it lovely because they've gotten to know a little of what the other likes and they are in tune with each other, but left some room for them to explore themselves and each other and for Jim to relax more. I figure Jim's relationships have been short lived and a little cautious on his part so Pam's probably more comfortable and much more experienced than he is. **

**I'm going to stop explaining myself now but seriously, the more constructive feedback I get the better, I'm really hoping it was a good first attempt at first time vanilla sex. **


	34. Chapter 34

**Warning for sexual co****ntent ****again. **

**A super, e****normous**** special thanks to all my reviewers for the last chapter, hope this hits the button too!**

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**Chapter Thirty Four: Friday Morning**

They'd only been asleep fifteen minutes before Pam's alarm signalled it was 8am and time to get ready for work if they weren't going to be late. Pam sat up, still without a stitch of clothing and reached out for her phone to silence the jingle it was playing.

"Alarm. Bad." Muttered Jim, wresting the phone out of Pam's hands and turning it off.

"That's not going to stop time, darlin'" She teased, looking at her sleepy boyfriend and now finally her lover.

"Bed. Good. Sleep. Good. Pam. Very, very good." He pulled her down under the covers and she gave into the warmth of his body and nestled against him. Making love to Jim for the first time had been as wonderful as it was unexpected. So much time and attention on her, she couldn't remember being so turned on and it felt so right and relaxed. The girls had been right, no fancy tricks, it was simple and lovely. She wasn't shy when he saw her naked either, she wanted to feel all of him against all of her, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

She laid peacefully against Jim's chest, his breathing slow and steady. There was still so much more to explore and discover. She'd hardly had a chance to explore Jim, his attention focused too readily on her. She'd change that though; even if she had to tie him down to do so she thought fiendishly.

Her mind flashed to the here and now when she caught sight of the clock on Jim's bedside table. "We've got to head into work soon, it's gone eight now."

"I'm injured, I distinctly remember being told I'm on bed rest and I can't be left alone for twenty-four hours."

"Hmmm, I like the sound of that but don't you think people at work will be suspicious if we're both off? I've never taken a fake-sick day in my life."

"All the more reason they'll believe you and I actually have a scar to prove my story, it's Dwight-proof. They wouldn't expect us to be so obvious anyway; they probably won't even talk about it."

"Phyllis and Angela will."

"Get Kelly to put out some counter information."

"That might work, I don't know though, what if we get caught?"

"Then we'll have to hide under the covers all day to make sure that doesn't happen." Like a flash he pulled the blanket up over their heads and launched a series of ticklish kisses on her neck.

"Jim!" She squealed and laughed, trying to squirm out of his grip and not touch his cut at the same time. "Stop! Oh, you're so gonna get it, mister!" She gave his chest hair a little tug.

"Hey! No chest waxes!"

"Don't make me go further down!" She threatened minx-ishly but he only responded with a growl at the innuendo before diving back in for more neck tickling. She wasn't sure how he had the energy, he was comatose a little while ago, he must be one hell of a cat napper.

"Fine! Fine! I'll call in sick but if this is the start of a crime spree I'm going to hold you responsible for taking the first step towards corrupting me." They fell back into their comfortable hug, all entangled so you could barely tell where the salesman ended and the receptionist began.

"Meh, I can live with that." He grinned, that smile was brighter than the daylight streaming through the curtains. "We've got a little while before we've gotta call in, sooo breakfast or more sleep?"

"Actually, I really need a shower."

"Hmm, you smell good to me." He nuzzled and she was putty again. "Actually, I need one too."

"Join me?" She offered and received a look of joy and lust on Jim's face. She was going to enjoy this.

A good handful of her fantasies about Jim featured the shower, usually after he'd played basketball she'd find him alone in the communal showers or maybe she'd offer him hers. While he was getting soapy she'd strip off quietly and surprise him. What they'd do would change, usually it focused on her, after all it was her dream, but sometimes she'd just picture climbing in behind him without a word and pleasure him with her hand, not letting him turn around, secret and illicit. She had that dream for the first time when she was still with... her ex. She didn't even like to think his name, especially not in bed in Jim's arms, she was so happy now.

Jim offered her a tee and a pair of his boxers to cross the hall in case Mark came home. Pam figured Isobel must have had a night to remember too, they'd have to talk later when the boys weren't about.

"God, you look so damn sexy in my clothes." He ran a finger between her breasts where the t-shirt was clinging and outlining the shape of her bosom and now it hung from two pointy nipples due to his touch. She almost blushed, especially as Jim had only put on his boxers from last night, she really had no idea what he'd been hiding underneath all these years. "You look a hundred times better than me in that."

"Wanna try on mine?" She drawled as sexily as she could but definitely tongue in cheek.

"Would be a shame to stretch it out on my account." He said graciously. "Not that I wouldn't look hot as hell." He added before sticking his head out to check the coast was clear leaving Pam to hide her laughter behind her hand.

It's not that she worried about facing Mark, she'd just like to be a little more put together and a lot less turned when she next spoke to him. Right now, she just wanted to get her chance to treat Jim like he'd treated her, give him a chance let go and just enjoy. It was so exhilarating not to know what was going to happen next, nothing was predictable and everything was new and it didn't scare her like it once did.

After taking turns to use the bathroom alone, Jim turned on the shower and got it to the right temperature. With a predatory look on his face he undressed her, she was almost pinned to the wall in the small space but that only heightened the mood. She liked how he seemed to insist on it, like he took pride and pleasure in taking care of her.

Rather than let her undress him he took down his boxers revealing her latest obsession, she licked her lips in anticipation, she could still remember how he tasted from earlier and she wanted so much more. Without a word Jim helped her into the shower as it was over their generously sized bathtub, big enough for two she thought briefly, hers was far too small for Jim alone with his stunningly long limbs.

Jim guided her under the spray. As much as she wanted to devour Jim there and then it felt so good to feel the hot water wash the last of the hospital smell out of her hair. Pam had left her wash bag within easy reach and grabbed a bottle of shampoo, her shower gel and a bath scrunchie that drew a curious look from Jim like it was an alien object.

She stood out of the spray while she lathered up her hair and let Jim have his turn, being careful to keep his cut dry until tomorrow. She watched as he lathered up his body with one of those soft natural sponges, deftly moving it across his body. Her eyes followed each soapy river travel down his chest, over his subtle abs and find their way down his defined thighs or better still, into the unkempt mane of hair around his hardening manhood.

She knew he was watching her too, his gaze mainly focused on her breasts. She had to admit, she had always been confident with how they looked, especially as their full shape was enhanced when she had her hands above her head, lifting them and displaying their curves for her very appreciative boyfriend. She purposefully allowed some of the bubbles on her head to escape down her head and flow downwards. Jim unconsciously bit his lip as his unblinking eyes followed the trail down her neck, around the edge of her breast, down her stomach and into the dip where her thigh met her centre.

"I'm showering with you every morning." Jim husked before guiding Pam back under the water. She rinsed the shampoo off quickly and took Jim's soapy sponge from him, it was unbelievably soft to the touch.

"Let me wash your back." Jim thought for a beat but turned around. Pam added more shower gel and started with slow circles over his shoulders, relaxing her boyfriend and letting him receive attention without having to return it. She could feel him breathing the steam deep, letting himself give into her soothing massage. She squeezed the sponge between his shoulder blades and watched a soapy stream rush down his spine and between the firm globes of his ass. Jim shuddered and made a breathy sound of lust. Pam's breath hitched, she hadn't expected that. She did it more for her eyes but that was the most arousing thing she'd ever heard or seen.

She continued to massage his back, squeezing her own thighs together to ease the ache of arousal she felt. She got to the small of his back and purposefully skipped his ass, moving straight to his thighs. She crouched down, running the sponge down the outside of his taut, toned thighs ad calves before teasingly moving up the inside, letting it brush lightly against his balls.

"Oh jesus." He cried out, bracing his hands against the wall. She did it a second time, slowly starting at his ankle until she brushed the velvety item against him again eliciting an almost guttural groan. "Oh god, Pam." Feeling the momentum building, Pam squeezed the sponge against the small of his back and he bucked and groaned as a rivulet of soap took the same route as before.

Pam couldn't take anymore. She stood and moved him under the spray, Jim too fogged to take instruction and as hard as he was earlier that morning.

"That was amazing Pam." He drawled dreamily, not understanding that it was only the beginning. The wanton receptionist had so much more to give.

Pam dropped the sponge and kissed and licked at Jim's wet chest, making her way lower quickly. When she sat on the edge of the bathtub in front of his erection she looked up at Jim's dumbstruck face.

"This ok?" She asked, thinking it was probably the most stupid question to ask any guy, let alone Jim, but he looked so shocked that she wanted this. He nodded dumbly with a gorgeous smile and braced a hand against the tiled wall.

She looked back at the object her immediate lust. She took him in hand, feeling the weight of him again. She'd been fascinated from the moment she saw him, he was absolutely beautiful. A tiny bit shorter than the other real life cock she'd seen, the girls had told her that 'Porno Penises' didn't count, but so much thicker and proud, completely in contrast to Jim's leanness. The sweep of his shaft, the curves of the head, it was just captivating. She felt like taking out a sketch book to draw him nude. Beautiful.

She had to taste him. She began by licking and kissing the engorged head, tracing the silky mushroomed edge with her tongue like she was memorising it, surely becoming her favourite part. She looked up at Jim and locked eyes with his as she swirled her tongue around his tip before taking him into her mouth for the first time, sucking gently.

"Oh, f- god, Pam." His jaw dropped struggling to draw breath but still looking straight at her with her lips wrapped tightly around him. She licked at him, wiggling her tongue against his sweetest spot, her eyes smiling. "Oh my god." He groaned louder than she'd ever heard before. He tipped his head back and was breathing hard as she began to bob her head.

He felt so large in her mouth, she couldn't take all of him but she moved her hand up his length so when she started to move he could feel so much more. She closed her eyes, setting a rhythm in her head and letting Jim's reactions guide and fuel her.

He hadn't been too talkative before but when she decided to take a risk by using one of the new tips the girls had given her and fondle his balls he just started to babble.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, Pam, god, so good, I love you, I love this, oh god..."

Every word he said was making her want to touch herself but she kept her hands on him, stroking his thighs and grabbing at his behind before returning to caress him all the while keeping her mouth and tongue moving. She was trying to take as much as she could, she couldn't get enough of this man, she'd only ever do this most intimate act with someone she loved and trusted. She just wanted him to feel good.

She could feel his legs shaking so sped up a little and twisted her hand slightly with each stroke, a tip she'd gotten from a Cosmo which, from the growl that was coming from Jim, was a hit too.

"Oh, I'm close... oh god."

Pam released him from her mouth and a couple of quick strokes with her hand and he was coming, with no pillow to smother that animalistic growl this time she could hear him in his full glory, loud and powerful. He shook against the wall with his release before slumping down bonelessly on the opposite edge of the bath, eyes half closed and breathing hard. Beautiful.

"Wow." He sighed; it was all he could manage which Pam took as a huge compliment, nothing could remove the smile on her face.

Pam took this time to soap up her body while Jim silently watched. He tried to speak a couple of times but she just smiled and let him half-doze under the water, assuming that like before, after a little catnap he'd be alive again. He'd been more uninhibited this time, the sense of occasion and pressure off his shoulders he let go much more than before. She'd neglect to tell him that what he was feeling was thanks also to her three friends and Cosmo, but a girl needs to keep her secrets.

Completely clean Pam shut off the shower and she and Jim wrapped themselves in towels that had been warming on the radiator. A few long kisses later and they found themselves back on Jim's bed, dry and wrapped up only in each other.

"I am so lucky to have you, Pam."

"Wonder why?" She replied cheekily.

"Seriously, not just that, which by the way was mind blowing but you knew that already, but just everything. I'm really happy."

"Me too, deliriously happy. You know what would make me really happy?"

"More sex?" He flashed his eyebrows but looked like he was making an innocent suggestion.

"I was going to suggest French toast and chocolate spread but that sounds good too."

Jim manhandled her so they were back under the covers, his energy restored by his catnap, or sexnap Pam thought she might call it from now on.

"No peeking." He demanded before darting under the covers.

"What!" The next thing she felt was Jim's tongue licking up the inside of her thigh. "Oh god, yes."

"JIM!" A voice yelled from elsewhere and Pam's head shot off the pillow.

"I haven't really done much yet but I love it when you shout my name." He said cockily.

"Jim, that wasn't me!" She hissed a whisper. "Get up here!"

"JIM! JIM?" The frantic shouting continued.

Jim popped his head out of the covers looking confused and still between Pam's legs when the door to the bedroom burst open. A man armed with a frying pan stood breathing hard in a total panic.

"Oh my god, are you both ok?" Mark was too overwhelmed with concern to notice their current position. Pam made sure to pull the covers so their bodies were both hidden; frustrated they'd been interrupted without as much as a knock on the door.

"Jesus Mark, what the hell?" Jim snapped irritably, his eyes drawn to the cooking implement in his hand.

"There's a whole load of blood on the carpet downstairs, your cars are still here, I thought you were attacked or something!"

"Oh shit." Both Jim and Pam looked a little remorseful. "Yeah, that's my blood, I hit my head, I'm ok though, got glued back together."

"Good. Good." Mark's breathing was slowly returning to normal. "Hi Pam." Mark waved with the frying pan and she could see it slowly dawn on him what he'd walked in on. "I should be going."


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Friday Morning (still)**

Jim made his way downstairs first while Pam called in 'sick'. The moment was broken and both of them felt more than a little guilty for making Mark worry to the point of arming himself with a frying pan. Jim's stomach was also growling for food and that French toast Pam suggested was sounding too good to turn down. Having breakfast with Pam would be perfect now. First he had to make some amends with Mark.

"Hey man." Said Jim, hoping to sound conciliatory and apologetic.

"God Jim, I'm so sorry, did I ruin your first time together? I just totally freaked out when I saw the blood-" He started at an anxious rush.

"Nah man, relax, it's cool. Actually I wanted to thank you."

"Seriously? Well either things were going really badly or you're some kinda pervert because I'm not really into that whole voyeur thing."

"Dude, I'm trying to be sincere here so will you just shut up and listen?"

"Go on then, sincere me up."

Mark had turned his full attention to Jim so he tried to regain his train of thought. "I wanted to thank you for coming to fight off our attackers, I don't think even my own brothers would have done that."

"Yeah they would, if they really thought you were in danger." He said humbly.

"I'm pretty sure they would have taken a picture of the blood and put it on twitter with some message like 'Think my brother's been murdered, lolz. Wonder if he died a virgin?'" Jim oozed with sarcasm.

"You don't give them enough credit sometimes but thanks anyway, I know you'd do the same." He shrugged. Mark poured Jim a cup of coffee and one for himself. Jim noticed he'd thoughtfully put some water onto boil for Pam's tea too.

"I'd have probably picked a knife though."

"Well, I figured if the guy was bigger than me I'd rather be bludgeoned to death with my own weapon than stabbed."

Jim laughed at the pessimistic logic. "You had time to think that through?"

"Well first I picked up a chair so I guess I needed to put some thought into it. I'm still sorry, I just went worst case scenario, you know."

"I know, thanks man."

They both took a sip of coffee and settled at the table. "So how did you hurt yourself?"

"I tripped and hit my head on the door handle." Jim was sparse with the details knowing Mark would find it hilarious. If it had been the other way around Jim would never let him forget.

"Oh man, ouch."

"Yeah, my neck is starting to hurt a bit; I haven't taken my pain meds this morning yet." Rubbing his neck felt painful.

"So Pam had to drive you to the hospital all bloody and everything?"

"Actually she had to call an ambulance, I was out cold."

"Shit. You're ok though?" The worry in Mark's voice returned in a flash.

"Apart from the fact that when I came round I puked and had no idea about anything but they gave me and x-ray and a CAT scan and I'm fine. They were a bit worried because I've been knocked out a fair few times before."

"Oh yeah, I was there for a couple of them."

"I remember most of them, one time I just woke up at the bottom of a tree holding a branch so I pretty much figured out what happened. Were you there when Pete said he could hit a golf ball off my head with one of my uncle's clubs?"

"No, I think you were only little when that happened."

"Seriously, I don't remember a thing about that one."

"Well you survived another one. Did the hospital give you any advice in case you start quacking like a duck or something?"

"I'm pretty much clear of quacking now, Pam stayed over because I needed to be checked every hour for warning signs overnight."

"Well that's some length to go to get her into bed, my friend. A gushing head wound always gets the girl."

Pam entered the kitchen in time to hear that comment much to the boys chagrin. "Nothing sexier." She added before turning to Jim. "Better call work, it's almost nine."

"I've got Toby's number in my cell."

"Call my desk, remember, you don't know I'm not there."

"You're so much smarter than me Bees. I'll be right back." Jim left to make his call from the living room.

...*...

"So you're playing hooky today?" Mark poured some boiling water in a teapot for Pam; Jim had bought one for his place a few weeks ago. She liked how the boys had accepted her into their lives; it made her feel welcome and at home.

"Yep, Jim's a bad influence on me."

"Oh before I forget, Is spoke to your sister last night, I think she's off work today too, she puked while they were talking on the phone."

"Oh poor Pen, I'll give her a call a little later, see if she needs anything." Penny was feeling under the weather and tired last time she spoke to her so it wasn't a complete surprise, she must have been brewing something.

"Dan was with her so she wasn't alone last night."

"He's a good pair of hands." She put some milk and a couple of sugars in a mug, she liked her morning tea sweet. "So, you have a nice night?"

"Yeah thanks." Nothing could hide that megawatt smile. "Definitely better than yours!"

"It improved." Pam said with a twinkle in her eye, after all, it wasn't a secret after he'd burst in on them. "Thanks for coming to avenge our deaths."

"Well, I didn't actually think you were dead, just mortally wounded or something. Not that I made good use of the element of surprise considering I was crashing round shouting. No wonder I sucked at paintball."

"I was still surprised if that counts for anything." She laughed and Mark blushed a little before chuckling too. She'd gotten to know Mark too well to be that embarrassed and he hadn't seen anything he shouldn't have, though they could have been in a much less compromising position.

"Are you ok after last night? Must have been pretty scary."

"I'm ok, I was scared out of my wits though. I mean I've never had to check someone's pulse before, let alone someone I love, his eyes were still open even though he was unconscious."

"Holy crap! That's scary."

"Yeah, I haven't told Jim that part yet, thought it might upset him, he was so worried when he got his bearings back and worked out who the hell I was."

"I know it won't happen again, but then considering the amount of times he's knocked himself out without the help of his brothers it could happen again, I'm just saying you can call me, you can get my cell number off Jim, we've taken each other to the ER a bunch of times."

Pam was touched, after meeting Nick last night too she thought Jim was lucky to have such wonderful friends who accepted her too.

"Thanks Mark, hopefully I can keep Jim in one piece for a while."

"Wouldn't trust him with scissors."

Jim returned, phone in hand. "I left a voicemail for you." He grinned mischievously.

"Nice, now we wait for Dwight to come check our alibis."

"Should be fun."

"I've gotta be at work in half an hour so I'm going to have a shower as you two are lazy slackers."

"Hey, don't insult the wounded, it's in bad taste." Jim mock complained while Mark flipped him the bird and head upstairs.

"Hope we left him some hot water..." said Pam, pulling a face as if to say 'oops'.

"Uh... think he might get about thirty seconds. Deny all knowledge."

"Lying to work and now Mark? Told you it was a slippery slope, Halpert."

"Let the corruption begin." They clinked mugs like champagne glasses and started on the French toast, the breakfast of hooky days.


	36. Chapter 36

**So this chapter is just a slice of Jim and Pam dialogue in the park. Enjoy.**

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**Chapter Thirty-Six: Friday Afternoon**

"I can't believe you convinced me to come outside." Pam looked around the park for familiar faces but they were alone but for an elderly woman walking her dog in the distance. She was certain it would be just their luck to be spotted by some busybody, even at two in the afternoon so deep in the park all they could see were trees.

"In all the years you've worked at Dunder Mifflin, how many times has anyone been sent to the park?"

"None. But would you really put it past Michael not to suddenly decide on an outing?"

"Probably not, but we're a half hour walk from the parking lot and Michael wouldn't walk thirty minutes for free food. He's also on crutches probably making Ryan wait on him hand and foot."

"Ha! That's probably the reason people think I'm not at work."

"I wouldn't be surprised if everyone called in today."

Jim laid out a blanket in the sun and patted the spot next to him. Pam didn't need much convincing and sat down next to him, legs outstretched. Their height difference seemed much more prominent as his feet reached beyond the edge of the blanket and into the lush blades of summer grass. They took off their shoes and socks so they were barefooted.

"Did you get hold of Penny?" Jim asked, Pam liked that he cared about how her sister was, she was yet to meet his troublesome brothers and their families.

"Yeah, she's at work, said it must have been food poisoning, I'll see her later to check on her."

"Did you find out anything about Is and Mark?"

"Just a smile." She said knowingly.

"Me too."

"Mark's not the kind to brag though. I'm not either by the way."

"I wouldn't have gone on a date with you if I thought you were. By the way, I _totally_ am, I've already text Kelly, Is and Pen with your vital statistics and a mark out of ten."

Jim fingers made his wordless reply when he tickled at her ribs, sending her backwards so she was laying down giggling and joyfully yelling for mercy.

"Jim! I gave you a ten! I said you were masterful!" She exclaimed, grateful the old woman was well out of earshot.

"That's ok then." He relented and grinned, laying down beside her.

"You were more than a ten." She said warmly. She wanted to be completely heartfelt. "It was perfect because it was you and it was us. Ok, that probably doesn't make sense but-."

"It makes perfect sense." He kissed her cheek. "It was perfect." They lay in each other's company, listening to the breeze in the trees. "Tell me something I don't know about Pam Beesly."

"Uh... what like?"

"Just a fact or a story, something I don't already know about you."

"Interesting. Will you tell me something in return?"

"Sure."

"Ok. Let me think." She pondered for a moment, trying to think up something that he didn't already know and was marginally interesting at the same time. She also didn't want something that could bring Roy into the conversation. She opted for a childhood story. "Don't think less of me because I was getting her back for something but one Christmas when I was seven and Pen was five I tricked her into thinking... she'd killed Santa."

"That's just plain evil!"

"Oh come on! She destroyed my gingerbread house I'd spent hours on!"

"No excuse Bees, your image is forever tarnished in my eyes."

She swatted him on the chest and settled with her head on his outstretched arm for a pillow. "Not funny, James."

"Oooh, full name, I am in trouble."

"Come on; tell me something I don't know about you."

"Well, when I was a kid I had speech therapy. I had a really bad stutter, it sometimes comes out when I'm nervous or really tired but it's not a problem. I think that's another reason my mom's protective, I wasn't a normal kid."

"Wow."Pam was really shocked, she had no idea. She was always a little surprised with each small revelation Jim shared, like he was only ready to share a little at a time at his own pace. She was prepared not to push but this time she asked the first thing on her mind."How come you never told me that when we were friends?"

"Well it's not really a cool story, like telling a girl you used to have a lazy eye. It might be not be a problem when you're all grown up but it's definitely not sexy."

"So you wanted me to think you were sexy?"

"Yes, obviously, but it was more about you not seeing me as unsexy, it's not like I could walk around the office flexing all day."

"Well I think you're sexy. How old were you when you had the speech therapy?"

"Three and four. It was as much for my parents as it was for me, teach them how to help, give me time to speak. It was twenty years ago so the advice was basic but sound, by the time I was six it wasn't a problem even if it flared up sometimes, I was old enough to stop it from getting too bad." Jim spoke open and at ease. After everything today she felt closer to Jim than ever.

"I feel like I should tell you something big like that too but I'm really, really boring and typical."

"You are far from typical. There's no one like you out there, I checked and double checked."

"Did you do that at the weekends, scouring the world?" She asked sarcastically.

"No." He faux snarked. "I googled you."

"That sounds so dirty."

They both laughed and Pam's self consciousness fell away, this day was too good to let old worries get to her. Her insecurities crept in so easily sometimes.

They lay peacefully again before another old thought surfaced again. This time, about Jim.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"Why did you study English at college?"

Jim was quiet for a few moments. The seconds seemed three times as long to Pam who was worrying that she's overstepped an invisible line.

"Because I liked it. My parents wanted me to do something to do with business like my brothers but I had this really cool English teacher, Mr Wilks, who encouraged me to keep going so I did."

"Tell me more, did you write? Do you still write?"

"I used to write as a hobby but most of college was academic study of literary work, everything from Shakespeare to Douglas Adams."

"Douglas Adams?"

"Oh I'm so buying you Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, you'll love it."

"You know Shakespeare?"

"A little, I'm no expert."

"So what did you write? Did you ever try to get published?"

"No!" he laughed like she'd said something ridiculous. "I just wrote for fun, short stories and stuff. When we were fifteen Mark had his appendix out and he was in hospital for a while with  
complications so I wrote him a chapter a day of this ridiculous story about this guy trying to lose his virginity, making it more absurd each day." Jim was smiling fondly; he looked so happy and vibrant in a way she hadn't seen before. "It ended up with my character stuck in some parallel universe being chased by two different government agencies, a lady spy who used to be a man and a talking shopping cart who kept humping inanimate objects." Pam snorted a laugh, she could imagine Jim's teenage mind was more than capable of coming up with twisted scenarios. "Mark thought it was hilarious which was the important part."

"Did your hero get laid?"

"Not a hope in hell. The last paragraph he accidently ends the universe the moment he undoes the bra of mysterious woman who just happens to be some sort of god and her bra is the off button for everything. She was hot though. Totally worth it."

"You're too good, you should keep writing." All this time Jim had been encouraging her art while he kept this to himself. No wonder his pranks could get so creative, that was his outlet now.

"It was something I used to do, I don't think about it now." She could feel his walls going up again.

"Well you should, it doesn't have to lead anywhere but I just saw how happy you were talking about your story and I'd love to see that again. No one has to read it but you, just like no one has to see my art but me."

"Yeah, but you're talented, I'm a hack."

"Don't talk about my boyfriend like that."

"Look, I'll think about it."

She saw right through that non committal response. "You're totally blowing me off."

"Maybe a little." He admitted with a sigh of defeat.

"What did you want to do after college?"

Jim sighed again but it wasn't directed at Pam. "Not have to move home and prove my parents right. Ended up getting a job in business so that didn't work out but at least I'm not home to hear about it all the time."

As sad as that was to hear, he'd avoided the question.

"You know what I meant, what's your dream job?"

"I don't know, being your boyfriend is pretty cool."

Pam had enough and turned to face him seriously but with compassion, she usually didn't push, but this time she felt he needed it. "You know that I won't think you're stupid or try and get you to change careers or something, I'm not your parents, I'm not here to tell you what to do I'm here to love and support you, like you do for me."

His face changed in front of her, vulnerable and he didn't particularly look comfortable, like he'd been caught out. She wondered if he was going to close down on her, make a joke and all this would be forgotten and left unsaid when he broke the silence.

"Teach."

"Pardon?"

"I was thinking about teaching. Like Mr Wilks who encouraged me, I thought I could be like him." He spoke like he was confessing to something terrible.

"That's cool." She stuck to a simple compliment, no pressure or further questions though a hundred were running through her mind. He wanted to be a teacher. He'd be great working with kids, he had such a rapport with them, he even bonded with Kevin's step-daughter, Abby, over the book she was reading, it made so much such sense. He'd make an amazing teacher. She decided to back off still, not pressure him.

"Thanks. I'm happy where I am right now though."

"Me too. Especially being here in Our Park." The midday sun was really beating down now and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. It would have been a crime to be cooped up in the office on a day like this.

"Peaceful today isn't it?"

"Well I guess most normal folk are at work."

"True." They settled and relaxed, making themselves a little more comfortable. They laid sleepily in the sunshine, listening to the sounds of birds singing and each other's soft breaths. "You'll have to meet Nick properly when he gets home, I'll be conscious this time I promise. His wife is really cool too and they have twin girls. Toddlers."

"God, I could not cope with twins." One scared her enough but that was some ways off for now.

"Yeah, they're already learning how to team up on them."

"Penny and I did that too, we were pretty terrible."

"Yeah, Pete and Tom did, but I was an odd number and a lot younger. Still, they're going to get fat, grey and wrinkly long before me so it evens out."

"So you'd want an even number amount of kids?"

"Ten or twelve should do it." He teased, checking her reaction. Pam was smiling. They were talking about kids like it was the most natural thing, it was a little scary but exciting at the same  
time.

Jim winced when he adjusted his position. "Neck hurt?"

"Yeah, must have given myself whiplash or something."

"I've had that before, really hurts and rubbing it doesn't help. A hot compress might work when we get back to yours."

"Sounds good. When did you get whiplash?"

"Oh, I was in a car accident when I was seventeen. Had to wear a collar for three weeks, it hurt like hell."

Jim's face was a picture of worry. "What happened?"

"I was stupid, got in a car with someone I knew was drunk, he crashed into a tree on the way home."

"Was it Roy?" He asked coldly.

"Roy's older brother, Kenny. He was picking us up from a birthday party, we were wasted. I should have known better than to get in the car."

"He could have killed you." Jim looked furious; Pam knew she shouldn't have told him anything involving Roy today, even if his anger was mostly aimed at hapless Kenny.

"But he didn't. Kenny learnt his lesson; he knew what could have happened." Pam knew Jim was biting his tongue and not saying what he really felt but it was probably for the best, there wasn't much use getting worked up about it now and unleashing it all on Pam. She could feel the anger teeming through his body. "You ever been in a car accident?"

He fidgeted before replying. "A couple of shunts, nothing major. I wrecked a homemade go-kart once, that was another time I knocked myself out."

"And now you're taking up boxing!" Pam laughed. "How they hell did you make it to adulthood?"

"I really don't know, luck?"

"Then I'm taking you to Vegas baby!"

Jim went to laugh but ended up gritting his teeth in pain.

"Let's go home and get something on your neck and your painkillers, won't matter if you take them a little early if you drink a lot of water with them."

"Yeah, ouch, lets head back."

...*...

Pam had to help Jim up but once he was walking his neck wasn't too bad as long as he didn't move it around too much. She gathered up the blanket but he carried it for them, as a  
gentleman should. Jim didn't like being in a weakened state, it didn't sit well.

He and Pam walked hand in hand through the large, almost deserted park. It would be packed tomorrow as it was forecast to be another hot day. For now they had the place to themselves. It had been an enlightening hour, though most of the light felt like it had blazed on him. He'd made the decision on the spot to tell Pam about his stutter, it was something he'd always kept secret so to tell Pam was another sign for him that he was in this for the long haul. It's not like it was a problem, just something he wanted to share. It probably would help Pam work out his parents too, why his mom treated him differently.

He was caught off guard by her question about college. He hadn't given his old dream of becoming a teacher much thought in the last few years. After Mr Wilks died during his final year he lost the drive to apply for his teaching qualification, figuring he'd come back to Scranton and figure out what he wanted to do next but he never did. He met Pam and suddenly Dunder Mifflin was the only place he wanted to be.

There was no way Pam would let this go now she knew. The thought of writing again was a little alluring though, he couldn't remember the last time he'd sat up writing until the early hours through sheer inspiration and let a story unfold at his fingertips. How many times had a potential storyline floated through his mind during a conference meeting but he'd ignored it, telling himself it was a waste of time.

They walked on quietly. Jim noticed Pam was deep in thought and looking troubled but his expression couldn't have been that dissimilar over the last ten minutes.

"Jim?"

"Yeah?"

"What number am I? You know, um, how many women were there before me."

Jim stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face Pam straight on, speaking firmly. "You're not a number to me."

"Oh yeah, I know, I just, I was just thinking about earlier and we haven't really had that discussion yet."

"Ok, no time like the present, let's have it." They were still deep in the park so Jim set the blanket down and got them both settled and comfortable, both of them propped up by the palms of their hands behind their bodies. He was happy that Pam made eye contact with him; it made him feel more secure. He had expected to share these details when Pam was ready and he had nothing to hide. "I've slept with twelve women before you." She kept a neutral expression which was hard for Jim to read. "No guys." He added, to ease the tension in the pit of his belly. It didn't really work.

"Thirteen. Lucky for some." She half smiled, not looking shocked or disgusted but it's not the kind of thing you think is great either. He had no idea what her preconceptions might have been, he'd not talked about his dates to her much, usually because they didn't amount to much. He forced himself to relax.

"Definitely lucky for me." He smiled shyly back. "Are you ok with that? Do you want to know more?"

"I'm not expecting names or anything." She looked a little more at ease now which dissolve some, if not all, of Jim's worry. "It's a little intimidating."

"You know you've probably had sex a thousand times more than me even if my number is higher." He didn't want to think about Pam's past with Roy, but he couldn't just block it out. It was a part of who she was. "You already know I don't have a good track record when it comes to long term relationships."

"You just hadn't met the right girl." She said sincerely. "You know that you're my second." She said quietly but still looking at him, not shying away. "Who was your first, you know mine."

"Remember Ilka?"

"You were in college?"

"Don't look so shocked, Bees!"

"I'm not, I'm just... surprised. I just thought girls would have been all over the basketball star."

"Well it wasn't like I hadn't touched a girl; I just hadn't gotten to the sex part. It was a couple of weeks before I turned nineteen. How, uh, old were you?" He hesitantly asked, he didn't like the fact that he knew the face responsible but part of him wanted to know. The masochistic part.

"My sixteenth birthday."

"Wow, you did get a head start on me!"

"Hey!" She protested with a grin.

"It's ok, I already knew you were more experienced than me."

"But I've only been with one guy."

"That's not the point; you seemed to uh... know your way around my body quite well, especially in the shower." He could feel himself blushing furiously.

"Oh, most of that was new to me too."

"What? You've never done that before?" There was no stopping the shock and the couple of octave higher his voice had raised.

"Oh no, that's not what I meant, just that I, uh, picked up some advice and some tricks in the last month or so. Some of the stuff was my own that I just thought to do in the moment."

"The stuff with the sponge?" He whispered gravelly, leaning in as he said it so the ants didn't hear.

"Came up with that on the fly." The sexual smile on her face as they both remembered their morning was making Jim's blood rush south again.

"Wow." It was all Jim could say. He was elated. The thought that he'd been the sole person she'd done that to; that she hadn't used some well practiced routine she'd used on Roy filled him with light. It shouldn't matter but it did. It was so much more special now; he'd be the only person she ever did that to if he had anything to do with it.

Although Jim was feeling happy again, Pam's face had darkened.

"Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Pam began.

"Uh... ok." He agreed, wandering if she was going to ask if he had caught any diseases or something. He'd always been diligent though.

"Did you sleep with Katy? The purse girl."

Jim paused but stuck to his 'honesty is the best policy' philosophy, he'd seen too many relationships destroyed by lies. "Yeah, only a couple of times. She was... a distraction. It wasn't really fair to her considering I was in love with someone else. I was a bit of a dick to be honest." That was the least of the story. It was not his proudest time.

Pam nodded, taking in the information. "I'd seen you date before, but that was the first time I was jealous."

"Really?" A smile crept to his lips.

"Yeah. Michael and Kevin were talking about her being a hotter version of me and she was trying to get your attention, I didn't know why but I hated her, it was like I had some claim on you or something."

"Well you kinda did, but you didn't know it. That's so cool you were jealous."

"Cool?" She asked sardonically.

"Yeah, just goes to show I wasn't losing my mind, you liked me."

"Should have just scared her off there and then and made you mine."

"I like this possessive side; you're not going to make me get a tattoo of your name are you?"

"I'm not into tattoos, maybe a nipple piercing."

"Eyes off the nipples." He covered his chest protectively before her gaze headed lower and settled at his crotch. "Don't even think about that!"

"What? I wasn't thinking about anything." She said sickly sweetly, eyelashes a flutter.

"Is there anything else you want to ask me? I'm an open book."

"I think I'm good. Sorry if this was weird."

"It wasn't, I don't want us to have secrets. It's ok to keep personal stuff personal but if you want to know something about me, that's ok with me."

"Is there anything I should know?"

"There won't be a fourteen."

"Good. There won't be a third." Pam climbed to her feet and helped Jim up again. "Sorry I stopped us from getting you to your meds, are you still in pain."

"It just aches, I've felt worse."

"Then come on, the pain pills will help when you get your piercing done too, I know this sweet little place..." Jim wrapped his arms around her and silenced her teasing with a long, wet  
kiss.

* * *

**The reveal about Jim's stutter I've pla****nned**** since I started this story. Very, very rarely he's stuttered around Pam and it was totally intentional on my part. **

**I hope you found Jim's aspiration to be a teacher believable too. **

**I need to have a good look at my story plan now, I have several things I want to achieve and resolve but I don't want to drag things out, it's been a really long Friday in Jim and Pam's world and we haven't seen Penny, Kelly and Isobel in ages. We need to get the girls together for dancing or something. **

**Once again, super thanks to my reviewers, you push me to do better work and use this tired old brain of mine.**


	37. Chapter 37

**I know it's still Friday i****n Jim and Pam's world**** but...**

**Oh, there's a fair bit of Left 4 Dead refere****nces but if you don't know what Tanks, Boomers, Witches and Smokers are just think of them as super zombies a****nd the boys are scaaaared!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: Friday Evening**

Pam had left to visit her sister so Jim sat, controller in hand, lobbing a pipe bomb into a hoard of zombies.

"Taaaank!" Shouted Mark, moving to the edge of the couch, his eyes narrowed on the screen. "I'm on handguns only, god I look badass when I dual wield!"

"Run ahead, get to the ammo, should be around the corner." Jim ordered, unloading clip after clip into the grotesque, hulking monster.

"Oh crap, help, it's chasing me!" Cried Mark. "Run Zoey, run!"

"I'm right behind it." Jim had moved to the edge of the couch too, totally absorbed in the fight for life.

"Dammit! Stop shooting me in the back of the head!"

"Stop weaving!" Jim unloaded yet more bullets into the back of the Tank and a few more into Mark by accident. The tank took a sweep at Zoey, punching her body through the air.

"It got me!"

"It's down! It's down!" Jim sighed in relief, Mark couldn't have taken another hit, they were trying to complete the game on the expert level.

"Oh man, I need healing, got any health kits?"

"Yeah, come 'ere." Jim's character Francis stood healing Zoey who suddenly struck Jim as familiar. "She looks a little like Isobel."

"Yeaaaah." Said Mark with a grin that Jim was sure he shouldn't see for its sheer leeriness. That was more than he needed to know. "Not far to the safe room now. I'm on a shot gun."

"Right, lead the way; you've got the most health."

They continued onwards through the level, blasting zombies and collecting supplies. Jim enjoyed evenings like this, no stress and no worries. He and Mark had been distracted with their new relationships that they hadn't spent as much time hanging out as usual.

"You're out tomorrow night, yeah?" Asked Mark casually.

"Dinner at Pam's."

"Sleepover?"

"Dunno. Hope so." Jim was half distracted by a group of zombies hanging outside the safe room, blocking their way to safety.

"Isobel's coming over, I'm gonna cook a rack of lamb." Mark still his tongue out of his mouth in concentration. "Boomer." The disgusting, bloated creature exploded safely at the hands of Mark's shot gun.

"Showing her some of your Welsh heritage." Mark's grandparents on his father's side were both from South Wales; he knew them better than his actual father. They'd chosen to stay  
involved after his dad left and Mark's mom was happy to oblige. They were kind people who loved Mark dearly. Jim had met them many times, usually in the summer when they'd come to stay and see Mark for a few weeks when he was growing up.

"I like to think so. It's the only grown up meal I can cook."

"Being trying to teach you for years. Women love a man who can cook."

"Whatever, I'm not the reason there's a big hole in our carpet and a blood stain on the concrete. Get inside, hoard coming. What did you trip on anyway?"

The safe door closed giving them respite from the zombie apocalypse. Jim ignored the question.

"So you want the place to yourself if you can?"

"Yeah."

"See what I can do. Ready?" Jim was reloaded and poised at the door for the next section.

"Go for it."

They left the safe room blasting, a hoard upon them almost immediately. They worked well as a team, though the occasional stray bullet caught the other. Mark freed Jim from the grips of a Smoker in time for Jim to lob a Molotov cocktail behind them and buy time for an escape into a building.

"I introduced Pam and Nick, though they kinda met last night. That went well even if Nick was being all fatherly."

"Cool. Shit, I hear crying, lights off." Jim and Mark both switched off their characters lights in fear of setting off a vicious Witch, her trademark crying signalling her presence. "You wanna do something next Saturday? Is is gonna ask Pam, Pen and Kelly out for a dancing girls night."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Poker night?"

"That sounds great actually. Oh shit, I set off the witch! Help, help, help, help!" Jim cursed as Francis was incapacitated on theground shooting with his hand gun into the grey, flailing woman trying to claw out his insides.

Mark suddenly paused the game. "Was that a knock at the door?"

There was a distinctive rapping noise and Jim got up to see if Pam had returned. They'd agreed to sleep apart tonight and see each other tomorrow for their dinner date. He was a bit disappointed but it was good to hang out with Mark.

Jim opened the door and was more than a little stunned at who was waiting on the other side.

"Mom." The surprise in his voice was evident to the greying woman on the doorstep.

"Hello dear. Oh gosh, what happened to you?" She looked up at the cut on his head with motherly concern.

"Oh, I fell." Jim was still blindsided by his mom's appearance. He couldn't tell if she was here to apologise, or expected him to. Either way, this was an unusual development; his dad must have done a number on her. "What brings you here?"

"Can I come in?" There was no demand or expectation in her tone, she placed Jim in control.

"Ok." Jim said guardedly, willing to hear what she had to say, she was his mother after all. He stepped back to let her enter and Mark met them in the hallway.

"Hi Mrs Halpert." He smiled. Mark always had a way of making mom's love him, something about those chocolaty eyes. "You can both use the living room, I'll be upstairs." Jim gave Mark a crooked yet grateful smile.

"Thanks Mark, send your best to your mother when you next speak to her." Beamed Betsy, falling once again for Mark's charm.

"Will do." Mark gave Jim a meaningful look of support having had enough mother trouble to last a lifetime and head upstairs. Jim gestured towards the living room.

"Do you want a drink, mom?"

"Oh my goodness!" Jim's mom stood frozen in the doorway, her hazel eyes like saucers. "Is that...?"

Jim looked down where she was staring, he'd completely forgotten about the cut up carpet and the faded but still obvious blood stain on the concrete beneath. "Oh, yeah, that's mine, it looks worse than it was. The landlord is installing a new carpet next week. We can sit in the kitchen if you'd like."

"Can you cover it up or something?"

"Sure." Jim got a cloth from under the sink and laid it over the stain. His mom looked pale and sat facing away from the doorway so it wouldn't catch her eye line. "So, uh, what brings you here?"

"Were you dizzy before you fell? You fainted at your aunts that time, are you eating properly?" Her questions came thick and fast.

"Mom, I'm fine, I just tripped on something."

"Did you lose consciousness? Do you remember what happened?" His answers weren't helping as she became more frantic and answering those questions honestly was not going to improve things.

"Mom, quit stalling, why are you here?"

"Humph." She didn't like being taken off track but acquiesced. "I'm here to apologise. I shouldn't have been so negative without giving Pam a chance." She met his eyes, they looked reproachful, something he hadn't seen that often in his lifetime.

"Ok, thanks." Jim sensed there was more she wanted to say so stayed quiet, this was the best he could hope for at this point.

"I met her."

"Who?"

"Pam. I met her, yesterday, your father went in for his check up x-ray, she was there with that ghastly boss of yours."

"Oh..." Pam hadn't said anything about meeting his mom, she'd mentioned having a nice chat with an older woman but surely she'd mention something as big as this. They had plenty of time to talk in the hospital last night too, why would Pam keep something like this from him? "Are you sure it was her?"

"Receptionist at Dunder Mifflin called Pam with a boyfriend called Jim." She replied simply.

"Ok, so it was her." Why hadn't Pam said anything? "And?" His stomach was a ball of knots and acid.

"She loves you very much." Betsy reached out and placed a warm hand on her son's knee. "I didn't realise you were both in love."

"You didn't really give me a chance." He pulled away, he didn't know why but he was still angry, she had no business talking to Pam. "I told you it was serious. When have I told you about someone I'm seeing since college?"

"Well, we didn't exactly get to meet those girls."

"So you assumed I must be some dating disaster? Because of two women you never got to meet when I was nineteen?"

"Don't get your heckles up, I'm here to eat some humble pie, remember?" Her voice was surprisingly calm and a little soothing. Jim would hear her out.

"Fine."

"Pam didn't know who she was talking to, when I figured out who she was, well, I was a bit sneaky and asked a few questions, let her talk. She's a lovely girl."

"So you tricked her?" His forced his words to be calm but they were spoken through a tense jaw. That would explain a few things.

"A lie of omission." She qualified. "She met your father too, albeit briefly, I'm surprised with us both there she didn't pick up on the resemblance, you are the spitting image of your dad in his twenties, just scruffier." She teased but it didn't go down too well. "I'd like to meet her properly, have her over for dinner when you feel ready."

Jim didn't respond, he'd say something he'd regret. She'd tricked Pam. How was Pam supposed to get on with her now?

"I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself the moment I knew who she was. I was tempted, I could suss her out without her trying to impress me or make her nervous. The way she talked about you, it's just what every mother wants for her son."

"Ok." That was nice, but he worried about what Pam would think when she found out about his mom's trickery. Not exactly how he expected the whole 'meet the parents' thing to go down.

"I really would like to meet her, properly, your father too. He told me more about what you'd talked about, things about Pam and your... courtship. We'd very much like to get to know her, especially as it looks like she could well become family."

"That would be nice." He knew he'd caved, but hearing his mom talk about Pam becoming family was his weakness.

"I'm sorry I didn't give you enough credit. Pam as well, I thought that maybe she'd used you as a way out of her old relationship, I shouldn't have assumed the worst."

"That means a lot, thanks."

"So she's an artist? She said she was starting art classes, got a new place and a car all on her own."

"Yeah, all before we got together."

"So I worked out. I should have listened, I'm sorry darling but I'm listening now." She reached out again and maternally rubbed his forearm. "Tell me about her."

* * *

**Yeah, this so isn't over. **

**I'm cha****nging the way I update this story. Because I want to work on some other pieces but still do this opus justice I'm going to see if once a week Monday updates will work. Especially as my chapters tend to run upwards of 3,000 words. I think that'll work for me and you guys too. See you next Monday.**


	38. Chapter 38

**It's Monday! Jim's got a date with Pam at her place. I've taken a few risks with their backgrounds in this chapter, trying to flesh them out a little, so I hope you like that. **

**Also, heads up for a new story, the project I've been working on now this is on once a week updates. It's an Office/CSI crossover (first one too, it's like I've got my own section, nice!) but it's very much an Office story. It's much darker though, not what you're used to readi****ng** **from me but I like to try new things. It's called 'Thrown Away' a****nd it's rated M (for violence and swearing) if you want to check it out. **

**Anyway, this is the epic Breathless so continue on!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Saturday Night**

Jim had picked up some flowers before his dinner at Pam's place. Technically it was the first time he'd picked out flowers for her and it had been harder than he'd expected. Luckily, two of the florists had taken pity on him and helped select a bouquet of seasonal summer flowers in shades of yellow, one of Pam's favourite colours. For years he watched as Pam was neglected by Roy and he swore to himself, if he ever got the chance to be hers, he'd never take Pam for granted. Flowers were a good start.

He ran a jittery hand through his hand before knocking on the door. He still had to tell Pam about his mom and he wasn't entirely sure how she'd take it. He was pretty confident that she'd come around but the immediate gut reaction might not be brilliant. She had to get mad, who wouldn't? Hopefully it wouldn't ruin their evening; especially as he was also carrying an overnight bag and a brand new toothbrush Pam suggested he leave at hers should he need it.

Pam opened the door wearing a daisy yellow sun dress and her hair down, the sounds of a Zero7 CD played in the background. "Wow."

"That was the reaction I was looking for. Are those for me?" She looked hopefully toward the spray of flowers in Jim's hand.

"I don't generally carry flowers around just for the smell, Beesly." He handed them over and felt the warmth spread right through him as he watched her smile blossom.

"They're beautiful and they match my dress." She quipped. "Come on in, it's really warm though, my apartment has been like a greenhouse all day with the windows closed."

"What have you been up to today?" Jim set down his overnight bag by the door.

"I'll tell you in a second, just gonna get us some wine and switch on the oven. We're having cheese stuffed chicken breasts wrapped in bacon."

"That sounds _so_ good." Jim stomach rumbled in appreciation.

"One of my favourites. Go make yourself comfortable, I'll be right out."

Jim went and settled himself on Pam's new couch. It was deep red and covered in scatter cushions that Jim didn't really didn't understand. He'd never owned of considered owning a colour coordinated throw pillow, cushion type thing, they looked foreign to him.

"You look confused." Pam said, handing him a large glass of wine and setting her vase of flowers on the table. "The cushions still throwing you?"

"Why do you need so many?" He prodded at a bolster cushion with a long index finger like it was something alien.

"Makes it comfortable and adds a little Pam touch to the room."

"Whatever you say."

"It's the price you pay for liking girls. Love us, love our cushions."

Jim held up a brown raw silk effect cushion pinched between finger and thumb, much to Pam's bemusement. "Yeah, I'll try."

"So." Pam set her drink down and turned to face Jim. He could tell she was holding back her excitement but he had no idea what she was excited about. "I have something to give you."

"Is it a cushion because I'm pretty sure Mark will set fire to it?"

"It's nothing girly, I promise. Hold out your hand." Pam was close to bursting now which Jim found utterly cute if a little unnerving. "Close your eyes."

"I have two brothers, nothing good has ever happened to me after closing my eyes on demand."

"Just do it, Halpert." Pam was getting impatient.

"Ok, ok." Jim held out his hand and closed his eyes, still a little wary but he trusted that Pam wouldn't have a tub of frog spawn to hand. Placed in his palm was something small, hard and cold.

"Open up."

Jim opened his eyes and looked at his hand. A small silver key lay there.

"I got my spare keys made today; I want you to have one."

Jim's heart stopped. It stopped dead.

"Pam..."

"Oh god, is it too soon? It's too soon. I'm sorry-." Jim cupped her face a kissed her words to silence. He pulled back and held the key between them.

"Thank you. It's perfect timing." Jim pulled his keys from his pocket and slipped the key on a free loop. Another piece of the puzzle of Jim's life fell into place. "This is awesome. I can bust in here any time I like."

"I'm sure you'll regret that the first time you walk in on me doing something gross or looking a mess."

"You could never be gross or look a mess." Jim said dreamily, still high from the huge show of commitment dangling from his key ring.

"Well I have some gross surprises in store for you! But for now, I'm happy with the mystique and your rose tinted glasses." Pam picked up her glass. "Let's toast to us."

"To us." Their glasses clinked and Jim took a sip of wine. He wasn't used to drinking wine, much preferring a beer but this wine reminded him of what they'd drunk at the Green Dragon, light, dry and crisp. "So what did you do with your day?"

"Ran some errands, hung some pictures in my bedroom and went to see my parents. Actually, I have something to ask you about that."

"Go ahead."

"It's my parents turn to throw a Fourth of July party, they alternate between my aunts and uncles each year, and well, you're invited if you want to come, of course, I mean you probably have a standing invitation at your folks."

"That's flexible, I'd love to come."

"Seriously? Because you won't just be meeting my parents but aunts, uncles, cousins and my parents neighbours."

"Might as well get it all out of the way in one go. There will be plenty of distractions so it won't be focused on me."

"So you want to do this? You haven't just taken leave of your senses?"

"It'll be fine Pam. I'm adorable." He flashed a grin that he knew would win her over. He was nervous but he wanted this and he had weeks to prepare. He was going to meet her family as Pam's boyfriend, he had her key, this was perfect.

"Ok, but it might be a good idea to come over early with me to help set up, then you can meet them before everyone else starts arriving."

"Sounds good. I've kinda met your mom already. You know I overheard her ask which one was Jim that day she came to the office."

Pam almost choked on her wine and Jim snorted an unsympathetic laugh.

"You heard that?"

"Yeah." He looked coy. "So, you talked about me to your mom?"

"On occasion... yes." She answered cagily but with a secret look that she was ready to play a game.

"So what did you talk about?"

"Just stuff, our pranks, funny things you said, just normal stuff."

"You're hiding something Miss Pamela."

"Maybe I discussed you a little more..."

"Do tell."

"Well, to be honest, I think most of the stuff she heard about you came from Penny, from the sounds of it she's been talking you up for a while."

"That's still weird to me."

"Yeah, I knew she wasn't best friends with Roy but I had no idea she hated him. Good job she likes you, huh?"

"Oh yeah, I'm grateful. Will Danny be there for the Fourth of July?"

"I think so. He's already met my folks so it'll be his first time with the extended family. You'll both be in the same boat."

"Was he nervous the first time he met your folks?"

"Hell yeah, Penny had to calm him down from having a panic attack. He'd had some bad experiences meeting parents before now."

"What happened?" Jim wasn't sure if he really wanted to know but he asked anyway.

"Well one dad said if he left now he'd get to keep his testicles."

"What did Dan do?"

"He ran! He was fourteen! Still, not as bad as the step-mom who tried to hit on him."

"Please say he wasn't fourteen then."

"Nah, in his twenties, still, pretty icky." Jim was starting to let a few nerves creep in. "Don't worry sweetie, my mom won't hit on you."

"And your dad won't threaten me, right?"

"I can't make promises..."

"Way to make this easy on me."

"They'll love you, they know enough about you already to know you're not some creep."

Jim knew this was the perfect time to bring up his mom but the words were getting stuck. He hated confrontation and he really didn't want to get caught between his mom and Pam.

"If you're worrying about this you don't have to come, it's still a few weeks away, we can do it another time with less people."

"No, I'm really excited to meet your parents; I was just thinking about something, um, my mom came round last night, after you left." Jim sat forward on the couch, sitting back didn't feel right.

"What happened?" Pam sat forward with him and put her hand on his knee. This should have stirred other thoughts but he needed to tell her about his troublesome mom.

"Well she came over to apologise."

"Wow, you weren't expecting that."

"I know, caught me off guard."

"So what did she say?"

"Actually I should probably skip to the important part, you met a woman at the hospital when you took Michael for his x-ray, well, that was my mom."

"Betsy is your mom?" Pam's jaw dropped. Jim's stomach fell with it.

"Yep. Before you freak out she really, really likes you and she wants to have you over for dinner when we're ready."

"Oh-kaaay." She was still making sense of what she'd just heard. The gravity of the situation was still sinking in.

"My mom was out of line, she told me she worked out who you were but didn't let on."

"Oh."

"I'm really sorry, I can't believe she did that, I really don't know what got into her."

"So the guy with her..."

"Was my dad."

"Huh, now you mention it he did kinda look like you, especially when he smiled at Bet-, your mom."

"I'm sorry and she's sorry too."

"So she liked me?" Pam half smiled.

"Yeah. She really did. She liked the way you talked about me." Jim half smiled back, a little hope crept in that perhaps this was going better than he envisaged.

"Yeah, I was a gushing, probably thought I was smug, bragging about my new boyfriend."

"She liked hearing about all your new independence and your interest in art. She wants to get to know you better but if that's weird for you it can wait as long as it needs to."

"No, it's not weird. I guess I have a 'meet the parents' story to tell Danny." Pam glugged back some more wine, she wasn't very good at masking her anxiety. "God, I should have worked out it was her, she threw me off by asking if Michael was my boyfriend."

"God, she's so sneaky." Betsy hadn't mentioned that to her son but he tried not to get tense about it in front of Pam. It wasn't her fault.

"It's ok, I guess she saw a golden opportunity and took it. At least I passed the test. Ugh, I feel so stupid, when your dad came out she said she was going to say goodbye to Pam and he said that his son was dating a girl named Pam. I guess she earned a chance to run her little ruse if I was that dense."

"I'm still annoyed with her, I thought you'd be mad or something."

"Well, it's... a non-traditional way to meet your parents but it could have been worse, I learnt about your mom, I guess it gives us something to talk about when we do meet officially. It's just a little odd, I guess, but I'm not mad."

"I'm really, really relieved, you have no idea. She's not usually like this; I swear both my parents are getting more eccentric each year."

"Did you guys talk about the other stuff too?"

"What other stuff?" Jim worried, what else did they talk about at the hospital?

"You know, what she said to you about you being 'sensitive' and that she treats you differently, like you're over sensitive. I figured that was more at the root of things."

"Um, that didn't come up."

"At all?"

"No. Anyway, the important thing was that she apologised about leaping to conclusions about you and tricking you into talking."

"But the other stuff is important too, I saw how much it got to you."

"I'm over it. It's not like she'll ever really change. She's set in her ways, my dad will carry on as normal, there's not a lot I can do."

"You can talk to her."

"Won't work, I've tried. My mom's my mom, I have to accept that and just not let it get to me."

"But-"

"No, Pam." He cut off sharply. It wasn't up for debate. "Can we talk about something else now?"

"Yeah. I'll be right back, just going to put the vegetables on." Pam left without looking at him.

Jim slumped back into the couch and covered his hands with his face like that would have made him feel less of an ass. He'd seen that look on Pam's face before; Roy was responsible for that face, not him. He wasn't supposed to be the cause of that face. He had to fix this and fix it fast, he couldn't be another Roy. He got up and found Pam in the kitchen. He stood in the doorway. There wouldn't be enough room in there for the two of them not to touch and he was pretty sure touching wouldn't be appreciated right now. Pam busied herself by filling pans with water, her back to him.

"I'm sorry." It almost came out as a whisper; he just didn't want her to be mad anymore.

"It's ok." Pam was curt and didn't turn around to face him. Jim hated himself a little more.

"I know you were trying to help, it's just my family make me a little crazy. I love them, but I've always turned to other people before them. When I had to plan our first date in the space of an hour, I didn't even consider calling anyone I was related to for a restaurant recommendation, even if I hadn't mentioned I had a date with you. I called Nick."

"Yeah, he was quite fatherly towards you." Jim felt like he was making some headway but Pam still hadn't turned to face him.

"Has been since Mark and I moved in and he helped us build our shed. Took us under his wing and Mark's always wanted a father figure." Pam clanged some pots around some more. "I've tried to talk to my mom before, I get a load of 'yes, dear' and nods and then a couple of weeks later I get some little comment about how I 'take things to heart' when I mention some crappy day I've had. All hell would let loose if I ever stuttered in front of her, asking whether I'm stressed about something or depressed again."

"You were depressed?" Pam had finally turned around, the hurt look she'd worn a short while ago was replaced by concern. He hated that too, but for a different reason.

"No. But my mom thought I was." Yet more Halpert revelations, and to think he thought his love of web comics and Buffy the Vampire Slayer would scare her off. She just seemed to be hearing the worst of his family.

"When?"

"First when I was fifteen, but then who isn't moody when their fifteen and their brother's are asses?" He took a beat to think about reliving this particular memory before plunging in; he didn't want to shut Pam out. "You know how I told you yesterday that Mark had his appendix out and there were complications?" Pam nodded and let him speak. "His grandparents called, they knew we were best friends and told me he had septicaemia and was very ill. I was upset and that's when I decided to write him that story, he'd have to be ok to read it. I ignored the phone when it rang again and a few minutes later Tom and Pete come into my room and told me Mark died."

"Those bastards."

"Yeah, they were in college back then too, supposed to be adults. They were getting me back for replacing all the clothes they hadn't taken to college with stuff I'd taken from the Salvation Army, you know people leave those bags of clothes out?" Pam nodded again. "I was going to donate it all, just after a little spell in my brothers closets, it's not like their clothes were gone for good, I hid them in the attic. Also, turns out the Miller household donated a lot of frilly dresses and blouses."

"Telling you Mark died though, that was completely out of proportion."

"It was. They apologised after... well, I kinda lost it, punched a hole in a wall and started crying. Tom was first to say it was a joke so I punched him too. Pete managed to get out of the way, he looked scared to death, I think they both knew that they'd gone too far. By the time my parents came home it was all over but I was still feeling it, didn't want to talk to anyone for days and I didn't really explain the hole in my bedroom wall. I just spent my time writing. Mom put it down to Mark being in hospital so therefore I must have been depressed."

"Why didn't you tell your parents what really happened?"

"Because that would break some unwritten rule that all the shit we did to each other stayed between us. I did as much to them as they did to me, just not as bad, more creative."

"I can't say I'm really looking forward to meeting your brothers."

"They're a lot different now, Gracie changed Pete for the better, I think he wanted to prove he was a man rather than a boy when he met her and having the two kids made him think things through. He still treats me like a kid brother, but I don't worry about being maimed or something. Tom's grown up too; again I think it was Olivia's influence. They've got the little one too now."

"Still... I just want to kick their asses so bad right now." For the first time Jim noticed Pam's fists balled at her sides.

"Don't worry, I got them back." He reached out and rubbed the tops of her arms to try and calm her down.

"Still, I can't believe they did that to you."

"That was pretty bad, but that was the only time they really were way over the line. I only had to see them in the summer and Christmas back then."

"Did you end up sending those clothes to the Salvation Army?"

"Yes I did Inspector Beesly, but I swear I was one pink dress short..."

"Which brother?"

"Pete."

"Good."

"So you do you want to take your key back?" Jim braced himself for the inevitable.

"What? Why would I do that?" Pam looked genuinely shocked which Jim wasn't expecting.

"Because I was an ass, I made you feel bad."

"Jim, it was one little moment, it's how we deal with it that counts and I think we did alright. I shouldn't have pushed, I just get a little over eager and I like to fix things. I guess I'm a little like Isobel in that way."

"Doesn't hurt to have people fighting your corner. Do you wanna sit down again?"

"Just got to put the peas on, dinner will be done in seven minutes."

Jim waited for Pam before they returned to the couch. Jim sat Pam with Pam curled into his side. Things felt right again. He still found it novel to have her so close that he could feel her body heat, he hadn't realised how good it made him feel compared to sitting without her touching him.

"When you started talking about depression, you said 'first', when was the second time? Or third?"

"Just a second and it was my last year at college."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I just feel like I'm unloading a lot on you."

"I was on antidepressants for six months when I was twenty."

Jim moved so he could see her face. She looked determined. He brushed a strand of hair that had strayed across her face.

"You were depressed?"

"I was really struggling to cope, I still don't know whether to call it depression or just being overwhelmed but... yeah, I ended up seeing a shrink for a year."

"Do you want to tell me about it? We don't have to if you don't want to."

"It ok, it's pretty simple. You know that my dad is a cancer survivor."

"I do."

"It was back in the early days of that, I had no idea what chemo could do to a person and it wasn't even the worse kind you could have. That and I was trying to hold down this crappy waitressing job and Roy could only get temporary work. We'd just gotten a place together and things were really strained. Penny was going off to college even though she wanted to stay home and help so I was pretty much dealing with mom on my own. It was just... really overwhelming."

"So seeing someone helped?"

"So much. Just having someone to unload to, everyone was dealing with their own stuff, Isobel was at dental school, I had no one to turn to. Roy was ok, I think the whole experience forced us closer together in the end, maybe that was for the worse, I couldn't say, but it was a dark few months. My dad's got the all clear now, five years cancer free."

"I wish we'd been friends back then." Jim wrapped his arms tight around her and placed a kiss on her temple. He'd wanted to protect her from the moment he met her, even from things he couldn't control or defied the space-time continuum.

"I could have taken my pent up aggression out on your brothers."

"I'd have held 'em down for you."

"Thanks for letting me tell you that. I haven't had a problem with it or felt overwhelmed since then though there have been days I haven't wanted to get out of bed, but that was usually because Michael had a 'surprise conference' planned. I'm totally ok now."

"You know you can always talk to me no matter what, us being together now doesn't change that."

"I know, you know the same goes for you?" She lay her head back on his shoulder and looked up at him. He'd never been this open with a woman before, it was scary as hell but it wanted everything with Pam.

"I do." He kissed her forehead. "You know, I had a good childhood, I really, really did. I climbed trees, I fell out of trees, had sleepovers, built go-karts, tried to eat as few vegetables as possible, all that kinda stuff. It's just... I don't want to hide the crappy stuff from you like it's a big secret when it's not. I'm not bothered by that stuff." Jim wanted to change the tone, lighten things up. "Hey, did you know when I was little I joined the Doogie Howser fan club?"

"No way! I loved Doogie Howser, I was going to marry him."

"Not why I was a fan, but anyway..."

"He'd totally be into you now, you know, if you were interested."

"Doogie Howser?"

"Neil Patrick Harris, he's gay."

"I think it would take more than me being a guy to get someone like him. So hot." Jim said with wistful sigh earning him a nudge in the ribs. "Hey, you started it!"

"I regret it and now I finished it! Ooh, you know who else I loved, Tony Danza."

"I so don't get you sometimes."

"What? He's cute. He's old now but still cute."

"If you say so."

"I say so!" A bell rang out from the kitchen. "Dinner's up!"

They sat and enjoyed their first meal in Pam's apartment. It had only been two weeks since she'd moved in but there wasn't a box to be seen and everything seemed to have found its natural place. There was only Pam here. Photo frames of her friends and family, even a candid picture of them together at the office Christmas party after the vodka arrived. It was plain to see he loved her then, Pam radiantly smiling at him and Jim looking on, just content to be the reason for that smile. It didn't bother him that she was with Roy when that was taken; he had a copy at home too. It was one of his favourites.

After dinner Pam put a DVD she'd borrowed from Penny in her DVD player and they ate their dessert of coconut ice cream on Pam's couch. By the time their bowls were empty their attention had drifted from the movie and on to each other. Jim found himself on top of Pam, their kisses becoming more intense. He couldn't help but remember the last time he found himself in this position, at least Pam's couch was a little longer.

"Did I get blood on your bra?" Pam froze and Jim cringed. The words were out of his mouth as his thought them. "Ok, that was probably the least romantic thing anyone has ever said."

"Uh... I was going to say I'd heard worse but that was special. Definitely a contender." Jim licked the end of her nose with the tip of his tongue as punishment. "Hey!"

"Asking for it." Pam was back to playing with his hair, she'd made him promise never to shave his head. Jim knew his ears, that was a promise he could keep.

"Well at least I wasn't wearing my sexy new one."

"Y-you have sexy underwear?" His eyebrows shot up and his eyes were wide.

"Remember that box that was delivered to the office?"

"Oh..." He paused to think. "Are you...?"

"Wearing some right now?" She smiled that Cheshire cat grin he'd seen before. He nodded, his mouth wasn't functioning anymore. "That's for me to know and you to find out." She pulled him down into a kiss and Jim was on his way to finding out.


	39. Chapter 39

**Welcome to the first half of Girls Night Out and Poker Night for the Boys. This night has turned out huge (word count wise) so it's being split in two. Seriously, I'm still writing it because I came up with something fun for the boys to do, it would have been bigger than date night if it wasn't broken up.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: Saturday Night**

"Whooooo! Girls night!" Squealed Kelly with her Cosmopolitan raised high.

The girls followed suit with a "whoo" and clinked glasses together. It was girl's night. They had a corner booth in a new vodka bar that had opened up in the last month in a renovated warehouse. The upstairs was the bar area, neon lit with water sheeting down ice effect walls and below them was the club where they could hear and feel the music pounding beneath them. Pam was wearing her new purple dress and felt amazing though it was more conservative than what the girls were wearing considering it ended just above her knee.

Pam and Isobel had gotten there early to get a good table so were one drink ahead already. Isobel had been so happy the last few weeks since she and Mark started dating. She had been happy before, but now Pam would catch her smiling for no reason or lighting up whenever Mark's name was mentioned. She saw the same in Mark. She confided in Pam that she felt she was falling in love with the curly haired accountant.

"Penny, where's your Cosmo? We're like totally Sex in the City and you're all little miss lemonade." Complained Kelly while she adjusted her Carrie Bradshaw inspired strapless cocktail dress for the hundredth time. The indigo number was trying to work its way downwards and upwards at either end. Pam was sure Kelly would end up flashing someone accidently by the end of the night. Between the dress and her heavy fake lashes Kelly was constantly adjusting herself.

"I'm designated driver tonight." Penny played with the umbrella in her glass of lemonade. "We're still so totally Sex in the City." Penny was wearing her favourite going out dress, a one shoulder mini dress in bright pink which complimented her golden curls. "Girls night, whooo!"

They all whooed again and sipped at their drinks. She'd been promising Isobel that they'd go out dancing since she moved into her new place and she wanted to keep her promise that her friends wouldn't go on the back burner just because she was in a relationship again.

"So I'm so totally thinking about getting botox." Announced Kelly in deadly seriousness. Well, as deadly serious as someone covered in glimmer moisturiser and a voice that high could be.

"You're TWENTY-TWO!" Isobel tried to yell some sense into her. "And you're insane, it's poison, you want to inject poison into your twenty-two year old face?" Isobel was fiercely anti-cosmetic surgery, always had been. Not that she wasn't already blessed with an athletic body. She was showing it off in a black halter neck dress with black sequin edging.

"But I could look nineteen again." She whined.

Isobel just sighed and looked pleadingly at Penny and Pam for help.

"You're too pretty for botox, sweetie. Why don't you just buy one of those super expensive face creams?" Penny offered, going for the honey approach over Isobel's vinegar.

"Pen's right, Kelly, maybe we could go get facials together, those dermotologica ones." Pam had never had a proper facial, just the mudpack ones the girls had given each other.

"Oooh, that would be so fun, someone could totally get rid of those blackheads for you Pam!" It never took Kelly long to abandon a crazy plan but Pam was nudging Penny and asking her if she had a blackhead problem. Penny just whispered that she was beautiful and her self esteem was buoyed again.

"This is the first time in ages we've all had boyfriends at the same time, serious ones too." Isobel went for a swift change of subject but accidently landed herself with an inquisition. Pam giggled to herself; it would only take a second for Penny and Kelly to clock what she'd said.

"Oooooh Issy!" Squealed Penny. "You're serious with Mark?"

Isobel realised she'd put her foot in it. "Damn that extra cosmo!" She shot a fake look of annoyance at Pam who whistled with innocence.

"Soooo?"

"It's a little serious." She admitted reluctantly. "We're exclusive. That's it. Don't go buying a wedding outfit or getting your ovaries in a twist."

"Mark seems really happy." Pam offered. Mark did, even Jim had mentioned how he was singing to himself and smiling all the time. Jim had even caught him singing 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' in the kitchen the other morning.

"Really? Does he talk about me?"

"Issy and Mark, sittin' in a tree-" Kelly started before getting an elbow in her ribs from Isobel.

"I think he talks to Jim mostly. I'm your friend so he's gotta think anything he says to me will get back to you. His smile says a lot though." Pam's heart melted at Isobel's shy smirk, she was always trying to be strong and independent in a relationship that she kept the guy at arm's length. That was apart from a couple of notable exceptions which were best forgotten. Mark had gotten to her though, that was clear to see.

"So when are we going to meet him properly? We've all kinda met him, but not as your boyfriend." Asked Kelly, hitching up her dress again.

"When did you meet him?" Asked Isobel curiously.

"Jim's barbeque for everyone at work. I was totally into Ryan and he was kinda tall and skinny, bit of a nerd too."

"Hey! That's my boyfriend you're talking about!"

"What? Geek chic is totally going to be _the_ autumn/winter trend." Kelly retorted sarcastically.

"Anyway, you're not going to meet him for a while yet, you all know enough to know he's not a loser or a weirdo-"

"Not like your usual taste in men." Kelly quipped and poked her tongue out.

"Like Ryan is a prize."

"Oh no you did'unt just diss my man!" Pam and Penny knew that when Kelly went 'street' things could escalate and she had be known to throw a drink or two.

"Isobel's sorry, aren't you Is?" Stressed Penny. She was glaring at Isobel not to ruin this night before it had even started.

"Yeah, low blow. Sorry, Kel." Isobel usually put up more of a fight than that; she hated admitting she was wrong. Even Kelly looked a little surprised and shared quizzical looks with Pam and Penny. "Drinks on me next time, ok?"

"Ok!" Kelly instantly cheered up and hugged Isobel with her usual enthusiasm which knocked the air out of her friend.

"Watch the boobs Kelly!"

"Relax, they're behaving!" Kelly yanked up the bust piece again.

"Those puppies are ready to escape." Isobel offered to retape her into her dress next time they went to the bathroom. "Hey Pen, you met Danny's parents yet?"

"Soon, his dad is visiting next month, he lives in Chicago and I'm seeing his mom next weekend, she's only in Allentown." Penny played with her jewellery much like Pam does when she's nervous.

"They'll love you, sis."

"I'm a little nervous but I've done this before. I just really, really need them to like me." Penny had never been that desperate for parents to like her but then Penny was serious about Danny.

"I don't think we've met anyone who doesn't instantly love you." Isobel encouraged.

"The goose fat lady." She replied, staring into the middle distance like she was remembering something truly traumatising.

"Insane people on Thanksgiving morning don't count. If she'd gotten to know you she would never have thrown that goose fat at you."

"Danny loves you so they'll love you too." Kelly chimed in sweetly.

"God I hope so. The pressure is on. Danny's so amazing. The other day I was having just the worst day ever, I had no lunch break, my boss was being a total butt and I spilt a load of really expensive meds on the floor, ugh, it was a nightmare but when I got home Dan had lit all these candles, put on my Newton Faulkner CD and covered the bed with rose petals."

"Awww!" Cooed Kelly and even Pam found herself going gooey inside. She used to feel sad that she'd never have that kind of romance in her life but she had it now with Jim. Roy had his moments, but you could never call him a romantic. Isobel rolled her eyes but they all saw her secret smile and wondered whether Mark had cured a bad day at the dental office once or twice.

"I know, I'm soooo lucky."

"I bet you had amazing sex after that!" Kelly squealed.

"We need more drinks!" Isobel leapt out of her seat and ordered more cosmo's. Penny continued to wax lyrical about Danny's foot rubs and she threw Kelly a bone and told her the sex was amazing much to her applauding delight.

Isobel returned with three Cosmopolitan's and a soft drink for Penny. "So Pam, how's things with Jim? Mark said Jim's been especially goofy this week; half expected him to be writing Mr Jim Beesly all over his notebook." The girls all laughed and started teasing 'Mrs Halpert'.

"Laugh it up, things are fantastic."

"They are totally having sex," Kelly addressed the others like Pam wasn't there. "I see them at work, Jim is definitely more relaxed and you just know he's totally seen Pam naked. Maybe that's how he got that cut on his head? Sex injury."

"I've told you a hundred times Kelly, he fell over and hit his head on a door handle."

"Yeah, but how much were you wearing and were his hands tied up or something?" Penny and Isobel were giggling riotously, just waiting for the next assumption. "Kinky Pam."

"God Kelly! Not everything is about sex you know. I gave him a key to my place."

A chorus of 'oh my gods' and wide eyes followed her reveal.

"Wow, I can't believe you gave him your key!" Cried Penny, looking a little teary.

"It's only been three weeks." Isobel was always the voice of caution.

"Really, it's been three years. It just felt right. I went to the key cutting place because I only got one spare and I was listing everyone who needed one and I put Jim on that list."

"How'd he react?" Pressed Isobel in full interrogation mode.

"He loved it; put it on his key ring right away."

"Bet they totally had amazing sex after that." Kelly giggled. Pam hoped that the blue neon cancelled out the blush on her cheeks. "Oh my god Pam, could you look more guilty! What's he like? Vanilla, right?" Pam knew Kelly wasn't the only curious one, it's just that Penny and Isobel didn't have the courage to question her.

"I'm not saying anything."

"Come on Pam! Did the tips help? What underwear were you wearing your first time? Your new stuff?"

"Look, Jim would freak out if I started dishing every little detail but... yeah, all the confidence stuff really helped."

"...and? Did you rock his world?"

"...Maybe." She cheekily teased. They all looked on, wanting a little bit more. "Ok, yeah. But that's all you're getting out of me!"

"Fine, Kinnnnn-ky Pam."

"I'm not kinky!" She yelled at Kelly in frustration.

A group of guys who happened to be walking by the table turned and stared. All of them looked like teenage all-American football players, clean cut and well built. Isobel shooed them along and their gaping jaws. Pam sunk into the chair embarrassed and wished one of the fake ice walls would crush her to death. "At least you didn't announce you _were _kinky, Pam."

...*...

Jim opened the door to his last guest. He was wearing his standard plain tee and jeans on what was turning out to be a balmy night.

"Hey Danny, come on in."

"Sorry I'm late, had to pick up Kelly and take her to Penny and for some reason I still don't understand I had to help Kelly pick out shoes." Danny handed over a couple of bags of sweet  
chilli flavoured chips.

"Sounds like fun." Jim said dryly.

"Apparently I made a mistake when I asked which were her most comfortable pair."

"Oh man, yeah, I've done that, the more painful they look the more you're supposed to like them." Jim showed Dan through to the living room where the poker table was set up and Mark was dealing out chips. Nick, Ryan and Ollie were already there and parted with their initial stake. "Danny this is Nick my next door neighbour and Ollie from Mark's work." Danny nodded a  
hello. "You know Ryan, right?"

"Yeah, hey man." Danny didn't quite meet Ryan's eyes and Jim sensed that maybe these two didn't like each other that much.

"Want a beer? I've got Stella, Corona, or Heineken."

"Imported stuff? How much are they paying you at Dumper Mufflers?"

Mark snorted, "That's the best one yet."

"Makes more sense than the actual name, my parents think I work at a bakery called Dusted Muffins with really good hours." Remarked Ryan dryly. Jim's parents thought he worked at an  
insurance firm when he first told them.

"Yeah, it's Dunder Mifflin paper company and nowhere near enough. The domestic stuff gives me a hell of a hangover. I've got limes for the corona too."

"I'll have one of those then. I usually have to let Penny push the lime in, she loves that."

"So it's girlfriend central here tonight?" Groaned Ollie, leaning back so far in his chair his hairy belly hung out the bottom of his t-shirt.

"It's a guy's night, I don't see any girls." Nick retorted while counting out his chips. "Unless you count those moobs of yours."

"Ha ha, Nicky-boy. Pur-leese, I've spent five days a week with that guy and that stupid smile on his face." He pointed at Mark whose ridiculously wide smile suddenly fell leaving him looking like a puppy who'd been scolded but didn't know why. "Believe me, 'the girlfriends' are never far away."

"Awww, are you lone-lee?" Mark mocked. He got it in the neck enough whenever Ollie hooked a girlfriend. Never lasted long though.

"No!" He snapped back. "I can get some when I want some." He sulked.

"Ok dude whatever you say. Here's your chips." Mark handed them over to Ollie and took Danny's twenty dollar stake.

Jim walked through and handed Danny his corona with a lime and got Mark a new Stella Artois. "Everyone set?"

"I get plenty!" Ollie still hadn't given up.

"I'm sure you're a regular man-ho." Mark assured sarcastically.

Danny laughed, "Sounds like you've been hanging out with Kelly."

"Who's Kelly, is she single?"

"Ollie, your desperation is showing more than your gut. How many times do I have to use that line on you?" Mark waved his bottle of beer at the skin below his belly button that was showing through his shirt. Ollie adjusted him clothing with a scowl still aimed firmly at Mark. Jim could see that Ryan was scowling too; Jim didn't think he was that into Kelly and he was basically killing time but it was definitely possessiveness he could see written across his face.

"Kelly's my girlfriend." He practically hissed.

"Fair enough dude." Ollie was unmoved, he just wanted a date and knowing Ollie he would have lasted about twenty minutes with Kelly before conjuring up some 'emergency' and giving her a fake cell number. He liked his women as low maintenance as possible.

"Let's play, huh?" Nick's fatherly tone calmed everyone down a little and Mark dealt out the first hand. "Where do you work Danny?"

"Fox's Auto Repair and Body Shop."

"You need an accountant?" Asked Ollie hopefully. Even Mark stopped organising his chips in order of value to find out the answer.

"Uh... don't think so. I don't really know about that stuff." Danny shrugged.

Mark decided to clarify. "We lost a few accounts after one of our guys got a little bit... arrested."

That was one way of putting it.

"Oh man! What did he do?"

"Cooked some books. They've found three illegal accounts now and we lost all his genuine clients too and then word of mouth hit and we started losing a few of our own. Selfish bastard."

"Oh man, that's rough. I'll ask my boss if he's happy with his guy but for all I know he does the books himself."

"Well our services are going cheap; we're trying to rebuild our reputation. That's the trouble with a small town."

"We are accountant-ho's now, we'll take anyone if they'll pay us." Ollie remarked to the boys immature sniggers.

"Will balance cheque book for food." Quipped Jim.

Jim took two cards and landed himself three-of-a-kind. "I raise fifty cents."

"Oooh, big spender." Chided Ollie who called. The other four boys folded.

"What can I say? I'm feeling lucky."

"Can't be too lucky, what happened to your head?" Ollie pointed at the healing cut which still looked quite red and angry.

"Oh, I fell over and hit my head on the door handle, hence why you're all enjoying our lovely new carpet this evening."

"The old one looked like something out of The Sopranos." Said Mark.

"It was no big deal. I'm fine."

"I think you've forgotten I was there." Nick wasn't going to let it go. "You were too unconscious to notice the ambulance with all the blue flashing lights and your distraught girlfriend."

"I feel bad enough as it is." Jim winced.

"You make it up to Pam?"

"Oh yeah he did!" Mark let slip without thinking.

"Mark! For the love of god can we just finish this hand?" Jim raised his voice but got nothing but smirks and muffled laughter. "Three of a kind."

"Flush." Countered Ollie, laying down his five clubs. "Guess I'm getting lucky in one way."

"Dammit."

"Mwah ha ha!" Jeered Ollie as he grabbed the chips from the middle of the table and pulled them towards him. "Start as I mean to go on."

"Pride comes before a fall, man." Mark said as he dealt the next hand. "Ante up."

Jim picked up his cards and got an open-ended straight, he needed an eight or a king.

"Uh oh, Jim's trying not to smile." Mark said in his sing-song voice. "And now he's glaring at me..."

That was the trouble with Mark knowing him so well and he didn't think his poker face was that bad, he was a salesman after all. A salesman who made most of his sales over the phone. Maybe he should work on that, he and Dwight were quite a good team when they went out together so he couldn't be that bad. He took his one card and everyone stayed in the hand.

"Uh oh, Jim didn't get what he wanted."

"How the hell...?" Jim couldn't figure out how Mark read him. "Another word and I'm going to get a hoodie and a pair of sunglasses."

"Won't help, I can read your mind. Right now you want to shove those jumbo peanuts up my nose."

"Yeah I do. I fold." Jim chucked a handful of peanuts into his mouth and one at Mark's head.

"How long have you guys lived together?" Asked Danny, watching their exchange with happy curiosity.

"Three and a half years now." Said Mark. "But we were friends in high school."

"That's longer than my parent's marriage."

"We're a perfect couple aren't we sweet'ums." Cooed Mark who got a loving smile and a flutter of eyelashes from Jim.

"Hmmm, I think Mark could do better." Teased Nick. "He's learning to cook, box and reading books on philosophy."

Mark was adamantly shaking his head. Jim knew about the cooking lessons round Nick's and the boxing because they were doing that together but he had no idea Mark was reading up on philosophy.

"Oh, wasn't supposed to mention two of those things, right?"

"Doesn't matter, you're turning me into a mean cook." Mark forgave him instantly.

"And the philosophy?" Asked Ollie.

"That's for Isobel, right?" Said Danny with admiration but Jim knew he wasn't a stranger to going the extra mile for a girl. "She majored in philosophy for a while."

"Yeah, figure wouldn't hurt to expand my horizons and if you don't wipe that look off your face Ollie I'm going to explain what The Matrix and Descartes have in common."

"You don't scare me."

"Well then I'll show you my uppercut that Danny taught me."

"With those scrawny arms."

"I'm lifting weights!"

"What? Lifting a bottle to your mouth?"

"Boys! Can we play cards without the fisticuffs?" Nick chastised.

"Yes, but only because you used the word fisticuffs and I like that." Mark made his raise and threw in forty cents.

"I raise to a dollar." Ryan threw in four twenty five cent chips.

"Someone's feeling cocky tonight." Probed Mark, looking for a tell.

"I've got the cards."

"You're all mouth man, I call." Danny threw in his chips, with his wide shoulders and muscular build he dwarf most of them around the table. Ryan looked the smallest there but he sat tall as he could, stuffed full of attitude.

"It's your money." Ryan didn't make eye contact. A quick glance at Mark let Jim know he wasn't the only one to pick up on the atmosphere between the two men.

Ollie and Nick called too. Mark and Jim watched in awe, this was a big pot and it was only the second hand of the night.

"Gentleman, lay down your hands." Mark announced.

The pot went to Nick with a full house but if it had been just Danny and Ryan, the boxer would have taken the money.

"Looks like the next round is on me. Well, I'll get up and get them anyway."

They played a few more hands with their usual smaller pots and Jim refreshed everyone's drinks.

"So what do you know to cook, Mark? Are you gonna invite me and Pen for a dinner party?" Asked Danny.

"I can get you some place settings for your birthday." Jim added.

"Uh, not quite up to dinner party standard, but I think my apricot stuffed pork loin is pretty nice."

"I can cook paella." Ollie said plainly. It took him a minute to register the quizzical look from the others, even Danny who'd only met him a short while ago. "What? I worked in a restaurant in Spain for a summer when I was nineteen; my aunt had a place out there."

"My mom taught me to cook loads of stuff. Grilled chicken, turkey steaks, stuffed mushrooms."Said Danny. Jim had picked up some diet tips from him during his boxing classes, whatever he was doing was working.

"So nothing with any fat or taste?" Ollie retorted.

"It's healthy and tasty; you have not lived until you've tried my spice chicken with cous cous and peas."

"Seriously guys, do you think the girls are discussing recipes right now?" Ryan was getting exasperated with the domesticated talk.

"Can't be that much different." Jim mused.

...*...

"Let's go get nipple rings!" Kelly clapped her hands together like a seal.

"Oooh, can we, Pen?" Pam wanted to do something crazy, she had three and a half cocktails in her and she wanted to do something she'd never done before.

"No, Pam you can't get your nipple pierced."

"Hey, you're not the boss of her!" Cried Isobel.

"Oh god, why do I have to stay sober?" Penny asked the mirrored ceiling.

"You don't have to be, we'll book a cab and you can catch up, it's not like we're really drunk, just tipsy, we should totally head down stairs soon."

"What about my belly button, can I get my belly button pierced, Pen?" She really wanted to do something. She needed it. Jim wouldn't care, he wasn't controlling like Roy was.

"Firstly, I'm staying sober so none of you end up with unwanted holes in your bodies and secondly... well, there isn't a secondly. Let's go dancing!"

"Whooo!"

"I need the ladies room first." Said Isobel and everyone agreed that a bathroom and hair and makeup touch up session were required.

The girls stood in front of the seemingly endless row of mirrors. Kelly could wheedle her way through any crowd and get her and her friends prime positions. Pam eyed the other women. She thought Kelly was scantily clad; she was nun-like compared to some of the girls here.

Pam turned back to the mirror and assessed her appearance. Her hair hadn't turned to frizz yet, the mousse her sister had recommended was so much better than the own-store brand she used to use. She flipped her hair over and fluffed up the roots for a bit more body. It wasn't like she was looking to attract a man but she wanted to look her best.

"Oh my god, Pam!" Pam didn't hear her sister too well but she could tell it was her.

Pam flicked her head back up and felt a little dizzy. "Ooh, head rush." She steadied herself. Isobel was helping put double sided tape on Kelly's boobs so they'd withstand some dancing. "What's up?"

"What's up with those two bruises on your back?"

Pam turned so she could see in the mirror and moved her hair over her shoulder. Uh oh. "Oh those are...um..." She covered them up with her hair and fished in her purse for some lip gloss.

"Jesus Pam, are those hickeys?" Penny's eyes were still out on stalks. It was wishful thinking she'd not question.

"Little bit, I didn't realise I got them there, guess we got carried away." Pam blushed from top to toe, not only she was remembering the night before but was sure Penny knew exactly what they had done and those weren't the only hickey's and nibbles on either of them. Jim was introducing her to a whole new side of sex and she loved it, Jim looked so wild and free when he gave into exactly what he wanted and mostly that was about making her eyes roll into the back of her head.

"Wow, very passionate Pam and from the look on your face I take it you're enjoying yourself."

"Yeah."

"So... not vanilla?" She whispered with more than a hint of enjoyment.

"Nope. Can I get that piercing now?"

"Mom would kill me."

"It wouldn't be where she could see it."

"What would Jim think?"

"I don't know, it's my body anyway, would Danny care?"

"Care about what?" Interjected Isobel who was done fixing Kelly into her dress.

"Whether I got a tattoo."

"Mark wouldn't care, I've already got two. I think he'd be more freaked out about the fact that I just got to second base with Kelly."

"That was totally hot, I'm so telling Ryan." Teased Kelly. "Mega turn on."

"Well it would be a mega turn off for Danny." Penny reapplied her bronzer with a little too much gusto, she seemed a little irritated.

"Danny shouldn't dictate what you do with your body."

"Really not in the mood for girl power right now, Is."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing, I just need to let off some steam and need to dance."

"That we can do little sister, just let me put on some more of this eyeshadow, some of my sparkle has rubbed off."

"You look so hot Pam, Jim is so lucky. If I was gay I'd totally do all three of you."

"Awww, thanks Kelly." Isobel wrapped her arms around Kelly's waist from behind and rested her chin on her shoulder.

"Like at the same time too."

"Yeah ok Kel, save it for dirty talk time with Ryan." Isobel spritzed on some fragrance that Pam loved and made a mental note to get some for herself.

"We all ready?"

"Let's go!"

They head out and towards the giant stair case to the dance floor below. They walked in twos, Pam and Penny, Kelly and Isobel. The stairwell was fancy but as the heavy doors opened and closed huge drafts swept downwards making Pam grab her dress to stop it floating up.

"Oh my god Pam, where did you get those marks?" Shouted Kelly over the music that was getting louder the further they travelled down the stairs. She hadn't noticed the gust of wind had lifted her hair up.

"They're just hickeys." She looked over her shoulder. Isobel had an all too knowing smile and Kelly looked like she'd just gotten all her Christmases at once.

"Oh my god, Jim totally tried to eat you alive!"

"You can't let on you know." Pam pleaded; she'd told Jim she wasn't the type to brag and over share.

"You should have been more careful." Isobel wasn't going to let her off the hook. "Very hot, Pam."

"I knew you were kinky Pam or is it Jim? Oh my god, you are such a kinky minx!"

"Fine!" She yelled. "I'm kinky! I'm really, really kinky and I like to be kinky with Jim, you happy now!"

Kelly and Isobel stood aghast but not at Pam. Walking up stairs were the all-American boys from earlier, jaws hanging again.

* * *

**More to come next Monday and there will be more substantial developments and less catching up which I'm excited for you guys to read! Oooh, it's gonna be good. Good, good, good. Good. Nice.  
**


	40. Chapter 40

**Oh my giddy aunt, chapter forty. Blimey. I do have an ending planned, there's just so much more to go yet.**

**So it's Monday in the real world (just)**** but it's still Saturday night in Scranton. We left the boys being tame discussing recipes and Pam announcing she's kinky at the club. We're back with the boys now, maybe they've live****ned up a bit****.**

**Warnings for adult discussions, swearing, alcohol consumption and Kelly's nipple. Because a story isn't complete without it.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty: Saturday Night Continued**

"So I was thinking, if I change my cell phone contract I could put away an extra twenty dollars a month in my pension plan and twenty-five in each of the girls' college funds." Nick was talking animatedly like he usually did when a little buzzed.

"You've got kids?" Danny raised his heavy brows with a little surprise.

"Twin girls." Nick pulled out a picture of his strawberry blonde toddlers and showed it to the curious mechanic who gazed in awe.

"I would freak out if I had twins."

"Oh I did. Had a full blown panic attack in the sonogram room." The boys all fondly sniggered. "We'd been trying for so long, then two come along at once."

"You were alright though? You coped with all the change and the stress?"

"Yeah, I mean we wanted kids for so long so we were as prepared as we could be but nothing really prepares you for the full experience of being parents."

"You and your wife got through it ok?"

"So far. We have a strong foundation and we still have date nights just the two of us, no talking about the kids allowed. You've gotta prioritise your relationship as much as the kids because they need you strong. Also, when the kids get smarter, it's basically you versus them so you better make a decent team or they'll play you off against each other. It's war."

"And your wife doesn't mind you coming here to drink beer and have fun without her?"

"Nah, next week she's off with her friends on yet another hen weekend at some fancy spa so I'll have the girls. It all works out and the girls love their daddy-time. I'm a den building expert."

"Oh my god!" Cried Ryan, pulling at his hair. "Can we discuss something a little less family hour please? I'm one more baby photo away from getting a vasectomy."

"He's right," admitted Jim, "maybe we should talk about something a little less... mature."

"Ok, I gotta story." Started Danny. "Just before I met you guys for the first time I was working on a Porsche Cayenne, fugly car but seriously expensive. It had one those fancy DVD players  
built into the head rest and I needed to check the electrics so I switched one on and..."

"Totally porn right?" Ollie guessed.

"_Homemade_ porn."

"Everyone's made homemade porn." Ryan snarked.

"You keep it your car next to Finding Nemo?" Mark questioned sarcastically. Ryan just shrugged a denial.

"Anyway, you know that gay club McQueen's has drag nights?" Danny continued. No one really wanted to discover more about Ryan's homemade pornography.

"Two drag queens? Three?" Ollie said excitedly.

"Nope, just the one and one high profile bachelor Scranton businessman."

"Who was it?" Asked Nick, leaning in like they were somewhere crowded. "Please tell me he works in insurance because I'd love it if it was my old boss."

"Can't say, but I know what you'll all be thinking each time you see a Cayenne."

"I didn't even know Scranton had drag queens." Jim said quite innocently.

"You didn't know about Steve McQueen's?" Ryan scoffed.

"I knew it was a gay bar, Chelsea's is too, but I just didn't know about the drag stuff."

"It's like a once a month thing." Ryan confirmed to shock from everyone but Danny who was sniggering behind his bottle of corona. "Fine, I went their once with some college friends for a party. I have gay friends."

"That's cool man." Jim breezed over the topic and showed he wasn't judging, he didn't really mind what anyone got up to in their private lives, everyone has their quirks and kinks. "I went to a cross dressing party at college with a girlfriend once. She wore my clothes and I tried to wear hers but being over six foot made it borderline obscene. Anyway, I broke up with her at the end of the night and I never saw my Happy Mondays tee again. Or my jeans. Or that particular pair of underwear."

"Guess you got a nice dress out of the deal though."

"I bet Ryan'd make a hot drag queen." Jim was sure Ryan would have been offended but from the look on Ollie's face and the way he'd spoken they weren't entirely sure if Ollie realised he'd spoken out loud.

"Uh... I didn't dress up but thanks Ollie; I'll keep that in mind for Halloween."

"Wha'?" Said Ollie, roused from his dream state.

"How about some Texas Hold 'Em?" Jim tapped the cards on the table and got assorted hums of approval but Mark and Danny were almost falling over themselves trying to hold back laughter. Mark whispered something in Danny's ear which almost sent him flying off the chair with a howl of laughter.

"Guys, what the hell is up with you two?" Jim couldn't help but laugh.

"I wanna play Texas Hold 'Em!" Mark drained his beer. "More anyone?"

...*...

Pam had recovered from her embarrassment in the stairwell after being coaxed round by the girls. Now she was on the dance floor with her friends dancing to one of her all time favourite songs by The Black Eyed Peas and completely letting go. The music pounded right through her body and her brain leaving no room to worry about rent, sneaky parents, Michael or the frustrated artist that lived inside her. There was nothing but the need to dance and throw her arms in the air as the floor became more crowded. Nothing else mattered.

Kelly, Penny and Isobel were smiling and dancing; Isobel gave Kelly a spin and almost sent her flying to the floor. Pam giggled and wondered why she'd spent so much of her twenties trying to keep a nice house, get a meal on the table for six pm and curling up on the couch with Roy. Everyone wanted to be at home sometimes but she didn't want tonight to end. She needed more of this free feeling. The music changed to a Beyonce song and Kelly knew all the dance moves, grooving away like no one was looking. Pam admired that in her friend. She couldn't ever be that uninhibited in public.

After what felt like hours of blissful dancing Pam's feet were screaming. "Kel, I need to go sit for a minute. My feet hurt." She yelled into Kelly's ear to battle the music.

"I'll come with you." She shouted back. They told Isobel and Penny who took a bathroom break and agreed to meet them at the bar. Pam ordered a blueberry vodka and lemonade for the three drinkers and yet another lemonade for Penny. She was loopier than the girls on alcohol due to the sugar but she hated the artificial sugar in diet drinks.

The music was a little quieter round the corner but they still had to raise their voices.

"You're dancing differently." Kelly said, leaning in close.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not looking around all the time and copying Penny."

"Did I used to do that?" Pam felt a blush of embarrassment touch her cheeks.

"When you were with Roy, yeah."

"Oh." Pam didn't know how to respond. She felt deflated somehow. Even after all these weeks she'd occasionally see her old life through a new perspective and wonder if everyone could see the flaws in their relationship. The flaws in her.

Kelly wrapped her arm tight around her and gave a tight squeeze. "It's awesome Pam, Jim was right; you're totally a butterfly now."

"God Kelly, you can be so sweet sometimes."

"Thanks, I always look after my girls."

Pam's attention was grabbed by the next track. "Who's this?"

"Oh, that's Florence and the Machine, they are so cool."

"Jim would like this."

"Hey Pam, you use the massage oil on Jim yet?"

"Not yet." Pam spoke before she thought.

"So you kept that too! Ooooh, Pam, you are a sex goddess! Just check the ingredients because some oils you can't use as lube because they dissolve the condom and I sure as hell don't  
want any of my girls pregnant before me!"

"Thanks Kelly." Pam said drolly but it wasn't something she'd realised, she liked her life as it was right now, a baby would be a nightmare right now. She had a whole list of things to do before then.

"Pam, Pam, Pam, Pam, Pam, Pam, Pam." Kelly said with a poke in her arm each time she said her name. She was looking in the direction of the bar, her dark eyes bulging out of her head. "Pam, Pam, Pam, Pam, Pam, Pam, Pam."

"What? Stop poking me, you're going to spill my drink."

"Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble."

"What's wrong? Seriously Kelly you need to start saying more than one word at a time."

"The Kiwi."

Oh no.

Pam scanned the bar area where Kelly had been staring. She couldn't see anyone she recognised but it had been a couple of years. He couldn't be back, he just couldn't. "Shit. Where?"

"Over there, by those slutty chicks."

"Which ones?" She scoffed.

"By the fountain."

"That's not... oh god. It's the Kiwi. What do we do? What do we do?" Pam panicked. She looked to see if the other two were returning yet.

"We've got to get out before Isobel sees him."

"Won't she think that's weird? She'll know something's up."

"We'll go get pierced."

"Yeah, that would be awesome and a genuine reason to go. I'll get Penny on board. Thank god you spotted him before anything happened."

"He looks hotter than before."

"Kelly!" Pam admonished.

"What? I'm sussing him out. He's dangerous, he's not going to stomp on Is again, I'll put a smack down on his hot ass before he does that."

Pam stared at the object of their hatred. The Kiwi. All five foot ten of him but built like a Maori warrior complete with tribal tattoos. He'd tell girls about his Maori heritage but his family had  
been run-of-the-mill lamb farmers and exporters for a few generations, it was all bull. The tattoos were for show, they had no significance. For two summers in a row he'd come to Scranton to work for his uncle and swept Isobel off her feet. Then he dropped her and gone abroad, supposedly to New Zealand and college but Pam half suspected he never left the states.

All Pam knew was that she hated the pretentious asshole and she rarely thought words as harsh as those unless she really hated someone. All the fancy meaning of life stuff, the occasional witticism and a smouldering smile and Isobel was lost. She loved his 'intensity and depth of soul' but it was nothing more insightful than a fortune cookie. Isobel thought he was perfect. So did he.

"Can you see them yet?" Pam asked, she wouldn't feel settled until they were out of the club.

"Not yet but I'm short. I hate that guy so much; I wanna give him a piece of my mind so bad. Jerk."

"There they are." Kelly and Pam waved them over. She gave her sister an over the top hug and used it as an opportunity to whisper in her ear. _"The Kiwi is here. We gotta go. Say yes."_

When back pulled back and made eye contact to see if the message hit home Penny's eyes showed the worry.

"I wanna get my nipple pierced." Kelly adjusted her dress yet again and grinned. "Pleeeease!"

"Ok Kelly, we can get your nipple pierced but just the one, ok?" Penny sighed like she was finally caving but it was clear she'd picked up on what Pam had hurriedly whispered in her ear.

"Cool, me too! Come on guys, there's a place open late across town I've always wanted to go in but we've gotta leave now or they'll close."

"No tattoo's though, ok?" Penny half demanded and half pleaded.

"Yes little sister."

Isobel agreed. "Ok, let's finish our drinks and head out."

Pam and Kelly tried to keep talking without checking on the Kiwi constantly and hoped the music was loud enough to cover his distinctive laugh. If Isobel heard it she'd be like a moth to a flame and all talk of falling head over heels for Mark would be forgotten. Pam hoped that she'd changed in the last couple of years but the Kiwi was something else. Twice he'd broken her heart and made her feel like she'd been the one to fail him.

"Come on guys, I wanna get my piercing on!" Kelly tapped on her chest.

"Me too, maybe I'll get my nose done too." There was no holding Pam back now.

"That would look so hot. Penny, you should get one too."

"That's not my thing, I don't like pain."

"It only hurts for a second, Danny will think it's so hot, he's got tattoos too."

"Yeah, but he was eighteen and stupid. Has Ryan got tattoos?"

"He's too scared, says he'll get ink poisoning or that liver thing Pamela Anderson has. He let me put temporary ones on him once."

"Well I've handed out enough ointment for infected piercings and tattoos to last a lifetime, you just look after yours."

"You're so the mom of the group."

"Well I obviously need the training!"

"Let's go get our coats." Kelly grabbed Isobel by the arm and dragged her in the direction of the exit but Pam knew it was too late. The Kiwi had seen her. And she'd seen the Kiwi.

...*...

Jim laid down the flop and tried to remember what his cards were. Mark made a bet and Ryan cursed, his luck hadn't been going that well since they switched games.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Ryan threw down his cards and skulked away.

"Yeah, I need to make a call, my sister just got off shift at the hospital."

"Didn't know your sister worked there." Jim said.

"She's an anaesthetist, started there straight out of college. Pride of the family but I don't like her working so late. I'll be right back."

Jim set about cleaning up some bottles while Mark and Nick amused themselves with a slightly drunken thumb war.

"Let me help you out." Said Danny, scooping up another half dozen empties in his large calloused hands.

"Thanks, just dump them in the sink, I'll wash 'em and take them to the recycling centre tomorrow."

"Didn't have you down as a recycling kinda guy."

"What with my reckless disregard for selling paper made from ancient rainforests and the tears of children and dolphins?"

"Something like that." Danny laughed and piled a few more bottles in the already overflowing sink.

"I had an eco-girlfriend back in college, somethings stuck. She didn't but I do recycle my egg cartons now."

"Wow, the only thing I learnt from a girl was that hard core Republican's are scary."

They found themselves leaning against the counter tops and Jim passed Danny a bottle of Heineken as they were all out of his preferred corona. They were running low on every kind of  
beer.

"So, uh, I was hoping I could ask you for some tips, I want to do something special for mine and Penny's six month anniversary next month and, it's got to be really, really special and from  
what I've heard from Pen you're like a romance master."

"I've been known to buy flowers on occasion. What do you need help with?"

"I bought a ring."

"An _engagement_ ring?"

"Yep." Danny played with the label on his fresh beer.

Jim took a moment to absorb the shock but he was thrilled for Danny. "That's awesome man, what's the ring like?"

"Simple solitaire diamond in platinum. I inherited some money from a great uncle three years ago so it's a bit more than the usual three months wages, not that I don't do ok, I just don't want to skimp on something that I hope she'll be wearing for the rest of her life." He bent over with his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths. "Never even thought about moving in with a woman before but I know this is the right thing. Damn scary when I think too hard about it, I don't want to let Penny down."

"You won't man, the fact that you care this much already means you haven't let her down." Jim gave him a manly pat on the shoulder. Penny would surely say yes.

"You ever been engaged?"

"No, but I've thought about how I might do it."

"Pam or someone else?"

"Pam. Just Pam."

"Cool man, we'll be brother in laws." Danny laughed. Jim actually really liked that idea, he felt like his family was getting bigger but this time it wasn't happening in another state and  
somewhat removed from him. "You want to meet up sometime in the week?"

"How about after boxing?"

"I don't want Mark to know. Not because I don't trust him because I do, but if Is gets wind of it she'll want to talk to me about it and frankly I could do without the craziness. Can you keep it from Pam too?"

"As it's a good secret I will. We'll set something up, maybe lunch or something."

"Cool, I really appreciate it. Bring your best game."

"You going to go the whole nine yards and ask Penny's parents for permission?"

"Yeah, Pen would love that. She loves traditions, down on one knee, everything." Danny had the sweetest smile on his face; it was so incongruous with his burly boxer exterior and scuffed knuckles. "You're meeting the Beesly's soon aren't you?"

"Fourth of July." Jim ignored the quake in his stomach.

"I'll be there to help you through it. They are really sweet, they just want to know their girls are looked after and they'll see that in you."

"Thanks man, I hope so. It's gotta go better than how it went with my mom."

"I heard about that, crazy stuff." Danny silently laughed, not sure if it was a laughing matter yet. "You gonna set up a proper meeting?"

"When it's less weird."

"So... ten years should do it."

"Fifteen on the safe side, good time for the kids to meet the grandparents."

"Kids?"

"Well, we haven't talked about it properly, just joked around, but kids are on the cards."

"Wow, dude, no wonder we were talking about pension plans."

A crash came from next door. Jim and Danny stuck their heads around the door to find Mark and Nick had fallen to the floor after their thumb wrestling had turned into arm wrestling.

"You cheated!"

"I'm stronger boy, keep lifting those weights!" Nick gloated over the prone Mark.

...*...

"No." Kelly shouted at Isobel who pulled towards the Kiwi. Kelly wouldn't let go of her arm. Penny and Pam tried to keep Isobel moving in the directionof the door but she wouldn't budge.

"You knew Jonah was here?"

"We spotted him while you were in the bathroom but we need to leave. _Now._" Kelly had never looked so serious.

"I should say hello, he knows I saw him."

"No, Issy, just don't."

"I'm not going to do anything, I'm not the same person I was back then now let me go." Isobel jerked free of Kelly's grip and tried to storm off but Pam stepped in front her and blocked  
her path.

"What about Mark?" Pam asked, or perhaps reminded.

"What about him?" She snapped. Her eyes were wild, she was unpredictable when she was like this but Pam wouldn't stand for it.

"He's my friend." Pam snapped back more forcefully than she was used to but she was furious that Isobel could be so stupid after going on about how much she'd learnt over the last couple of years. "He's been through stuff. Don't do this to him."

"What the hell Pam, you think I'd hurt him like that after what I told you? That's how little you think of me?"

"I'm not going to fight you Is; the Kiwi makes you crazy."

"His name is _Jonah_." She growled.

"I want my belly button pierced. Are you coming or are you going to screw up the best thing that's happened to you since Aaron Turner kissed you on your fourteenth birthday?"

They stared at each other for the longest time. Pam could almost see Isobel thinking it through, the cogs moving behind her big brown eyes. Pam wasn't going to back down. If she looked away she'd be giving her silent permission to talk to the jerk and ruin herself again. She folded her arms in defiance. "Well?"

"Belle?" The voice was unmistakeable, even over the sound of the thumping music. The goddamn Kiwi.

"Jonah." Isobel smirked a little at the New Zealander. Penny and Kelly grimaced, they were powerless now but Pam wouldn't give up. She had to do this for Mark.

"We're leaving." Pam hissed, grabbing Isobel's arm but she shrugged free.

"Go get a soft drink and sober up before we go to the piercing place, I'm just going to say hi to Jonah for a minute." Isobel never took her eyes off the man.

"Isobel, please." Pam resorted to begging. How could she face Jim if her friend screwed over one of the most important people in his life? It was a selfish way to put it but to fall for him three times would be too stupid for words and she was running out of sympathy.

"Trust me, I just want to talk." She sounded calm but Pam knew Isobel was an actress when she wanted to be.

"If you're not back in five minutes we're dragging you out by your hair and that's not an empty threat."

"Fine. Five minutes."

Pam, Penny and Kelly walked away but kept them in sight. Penny gripped both of their arms in a death grip when Isobel flicked her hair coquettishly over her shoulder.

"I'm going to kill her. I'm going to lecture her on feminine empowerment and then... I'm gonna kill her!" Penny raged. "You know Mark left her a little note on her mirror so when she had a shower she could see it. He's so sweet."

"What did it say?" Kelly asked.

"Remember to wash behind your ears. Wish I was with you." Penny replied sadly.

"Awww, that's just right for Isobel. Ugh, why is she doing this again?"

"She is just talking." Pam reasoned. "Maybe she's telling him how wonderful her new boyfriend is and how he screwed up the best thing in the world." Pam soothed them but she was boiling over too, she wanted to drag her foolish friend away.

"When he didn't show up last summer I thought he'd gone for good. Jerkface." Kelly spat.

All three of them were sending as many evil and hateful thought towards the Kiwi as they could muster. He looked pretty much the same as he did two years ago. His black hair was a little shorter but everything else looked the same. Those dark eyes, broad shoulders, a too tight t-shirt and high cheek bones. Pam was trying to read his lips but it was pretty hopeless. He looked over at them and they added another layer of venom to their combined stare, he looked away pretty quickly. They were good at glaring.

"What are they talking about? He better not touch her, I know he'll go for a hair swipe soon. Tuck it behind her ear. This is awful." Penny was shaking with fury. "How long has it been so far?"

"A minute." Pam replied.

"God, I hope Isobel is strong enough not to let him talk her round with all that 'two independent people choosing to spend time together a second at a time like a marriage in each moment' BS."

"Just the way to talk her round, she feels like a feminist while he gets his laundry done." Pam said wearily. They still had to shout over the music and her voice was getting sore.

"I can't watch it again, three months of Isobel gone insane." Penny sounded close to tears. "He called her _Belle_." She rasped as loud as she could. "I'm going to get her; she won't know how long it's been, I've had enough of this nonsense."

"Wait... oh no." Pam grabbed for her sister's arm.

Isobel was hugging him. They weren't touching all the way down; it was one of those friendly leaning in from the top hugs. A hopeful sign maybe. With a pat on the shoulder from Isobel to the Kiwi she left him and walked back over to the girls.

"So! Who wants to get some body jewellery?"

...*...

"Come on Jim, call or fold." Ryan rapped his hands on the table. His eyes were a little glazed from the beer and Ollie was getting handsy with him. Not that he seemed to mind, Ollie was getting huggy with everyone in touching distance much like he usually did when he had a few beers in him.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." Jim tried to stall; he hated low pairs with a passion.

"Your cards aren't getting any better."

"Fine, I call."

"Read 'em and weep." Ryan laid down his cards with a flourish.

"Ha, split pot so shove it, Howard."

"That your best smack talk?"

"Well I prefer pranks, I guess I could steal your cell phone and send Michael some... appreciative texts, how much you love his leadership, how you wish you could be just like him, how you want to hang out with him."

"All talk, Halpert."

"Where's your cell Ryan?"

"Just here..." he palmed his pants pocket but found nothing, "you mother...Jim!"

"Be good, Ryan. I haven't sent anything. Yet."

"You know I could tell the whole office about you and Pam."

"I figure everyone will find out eventually. I'm pretty sure Phyllis sussed us out already."

"Gimme back my phone."

"Who said I still have it?"

"Come on guys, it's your turn to call or fold, Ryan." Mark nudged, he was looking quite mellow, slumped a little in his chair with his long legs stretched out.

"I call." Ryan threw in a meagre ten cents.

Ollie dealt the next card. "How about we make this interesting?"

"We're already playing for real money."

"I'm not talking about money; I'm suggesting that whoever wins each hand gets to choose a dare for one of the losers."

"Mmm... that is interesting." Mark swayed a little in his chair.

"Who's up for it?"

"Might as well before I get old." Said Danny.

"I _am_ old so, yeah, Sandra can't get much madder than the paintball bruise flowers."

"Paintball bruise flowers?" Asked Danny curiously like Nick was just putting random words together.

"Ollie, Jim and Mark drew vines of flowers over my chest using the bruises I got from paintball as the centres. It was beautiful work."

"I do have an artistic soul." Remarked Mark. "Jim and Ollie coloured them in. Stayed in the lines and everything."

"They even incorporated my nipples, true attention to detail."

"Got a picture on my phone." Jim pulled out his cell and showed Danny their handy work.

Danny nodded with approval. "Pretty. Where are you? That looks like a urinal."

"That would be a bathroom, Columbo." Sneered Ollie in jest. He'd come to like the new addition to the group. "Come on, Jim, Mark, Ryan, are you men or nipple flowers?"

"I'm a man, just no nudity; Ollie is touching me up enough." Said Ryan.

"Yeah, I'll join in." Said Jim knowing that he'd regret it in the morning and Mark agreed too.

"Ok, we'll start next hand." Ollie clapped and rubbed his hands together. "This is gonna be good."

They got through the current hand which Jim won much to his ire and the room fell quiet waiting for the next hand.

"It is me or has it got really tense?" Jim asked his five companions.

"Worried Jimmy?" Asked Mark. He looked at his cards and smiled so wide Jim swore he had twice as many teeth as the average person. "Better think up a dare."

They all called and Ollie dealt out the flop, no one was going to fold easy now. Jim sat up straight, he had a suited jack and a queen but an ace on the table made him nervous. Jim tried to use his salesman instincts to read the men around him. Nick was easy, he had nothing. Ollie's expression varied between goofy to idiotic but it never correlated to his cards. Ryan was tricky, he always kept a steely face and if he was up against Danny it took on a more menacing edge. Mark was easier to read but the accountant usually had the drop on him.

Nick was the first to fold after Jim made an aggressive bet; no one was going to win this cheaply if there were dares at stake. "Guess I'm in the firing line." Said the father of twins.

"I'll join you." Said Mark, throwing in his hand. "Looks like Jim grew an extra set of testicles."

"Guess that's why he's sittin' funny." Snickered Ollie.

"I'll raise..." said Ryan, "...another dollar."

"Yeah, alright, I'm in, worth it for what I've got in mind." Danny threw in almost all his chips. "You in, Jim?"

"I'm in for another card; I'm not passing up the chance to dish out the first dare even if it costs me my lunch money."

Ollie dealt the turn. It was looking good for Jim but he'd been burnt a couple of times tonight and after stealing Ryan's phone he was certain the inept salesman would be looking for revenge.

"Three dollars." Said Ryan.

"Fine. I call." Said Danny.

"Yeah, me too."

"This is just like the World Poker Tour, I used to watch it when the twins were awake in the night, they love Gus Hansen."

"Don't you think he looks like a sexier version of Frankenstein?" Said Mark while trying and failing to do that trick where you blend two sets of chips together with one hand.

"I was going to make fun of you for that." Said Jim, "But he _does_ look like a more attractive Frankenstein."

"Actually Frankenstein was the name of the doctor, not the monster." Said Ollie facetiously.

"Just deal the next card Ollie, I've got my dare all picked out." Said Ryan, leaning forward anxiously.

Ollie dealt the next card. Jim had no idea whether the pot was won or not.

"Five dollars." Ryan pushed half his remaining chips into the pot.

"I call." Danny didn't hesitate.

"Um... shit." Jim could afford it but it was still a steep call to make. "Fine, I call too."

"Ooooh! Exciting!" Said Nick, bouncing around in his chair.

"Let's see 'em gentleman. After three. One, two... three."

Jim lay down his hand. He'd beaten Ryan but... "Shit."

"Yeeeeees!" Danny yelled. "Sweet as honey pie!"

"Fuck." Ryan muttered.

"You guys got any dress up clothes? Specifically, _belly dancing_." Asked Danny.

"Oh fuck man; no I'm not doing it!" Ryan protested.

"I haven't even picked anyone yet." Danny said with a grin.

"_You_ know you're gonna pick me, _I_ know you're gonna pick me so just get it over and done with."

"I think I've got a sarong from an ex upstairs." Said Mark a little unsure what exactly was going on. Jim shrugged in reply to the question in his eyes.

"Perfect! Go get it. Jim, got any Bollywood sounding music on your iPod?"

"Shit, shit, shit." Repeated Ryan, tipping back in his chair so it was balanced on two legs.

"Still haven't picked you, Howard."

"Whatever man, got anything harder than beer Jim?" Ryan's blue eyes actually looked quite helpless.

"I'll get you some Jack Daniels." Jim retrieved his iPod and handed it to Danny. "I've got the Slumdog soundtrack, find your favourite and put it in the dock."

"You are ace man."

After a few more minutes, some Jack Daniels and some more cajoling Ryan was ready. Shirt off with a pink see-through sarong wrapped over his khaki shorts.

"Dance Ryan!" Danny demanded. "Half of this song and it'll all be over; you know how to do it!"

Jai Ho from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack blared out of Jim's iPod dock. "I've worn the outfit, ain't that enough?"

"Don't be a dick Ryan, dance!" Ryan hung his head and began to move his hips a bit. "Come on, do the arm movements too, you know how it goes."

Ryan did as he was told and did the twisting arm movements and followed Danny's instructions to turn and wiggle about a bit more. Jim had no idea why this was happening but the two men involve seemed to know the score. Ryan started hopping from side to side while twisting his hands in the air like he knew the kinda of thing Danny was looking for. The song eventually finished a Ryan slumped in his chair in a sulk, waiting for the other boys to stop laughing.

Mark, still giggling a little whispered in Jim's ear. "You got that right?"

"When have I ever failed you?" Jim whispered back much to Mark's delight. "It'll be up by sunrise tomorrow."

...*...

The girls sat in Penny's small Honda on their way to the piercing place. Kelly had called shotgun like she usually does and Isobel and Pam sat in the back. The mood was tense and Isobel hadn't said a word about her little chat with the Kiwi.

"So we're seriously going to get piercings?" Isobel made an attempt to break the silence.

"Yup. So... are you going to tell us what happened with the Kiwi?" Asked Pam. Kelly turned round in her seat to listen in.

"Not much to say really. He's back in town for two weeks to help his uncle with a big shipment of something, sheepskin I think, and I told him how happy I was." Isobel didn't look at them and stared at the back of Penny's seat.

"Did you tell him he's an ass?" Asked Penny, her eyes firmly locked on the road but her attention on her friend.

"Not in so many words. I think we can be friends though, he was telling me how much he'd grown up in the past couple of years, he went travelling round Thailand last year and had all these spiritual awakenings."

The combined sound of the three girls biting their tongues was heard as silence but some telepathic link put everyone but Isobel on the same page.

"Well, that's nice for him." Said Pam cautiously, not wanting to set off the fiery brunette's temper. "Good job you have Mark in your life now, you and Mark are much better suited." She emphasised.

"It was nice talking to Jonah again. I feel like I have some closure, I didn't really get a chance last time he left."

"Closure is good..." Pam replied, almost as a question. "Are you going to meet up at all?"

"Don't think so, he's really busy and I am too. I'm not sure if I want that, I don't feel that... pull."

"Good. Well, that's all a part of closure, the not seeing each other part."

"I guess." Silence filled the car again. The jovial mood was well and truly dead and replaced by several bucket loads of worry. "It's really over. I promise you guys, I don't want him anymore. I know what you're all thinking and I'm ok. Can we get some music on now? It's _way_ too quiet and tense in here."

"Sure Is. Kel, pick a CD." Penny said brightly, knowing they weren't going to get much more out of the brunette tonight.

"Oooh, Penny's got Florence and the Machine Pam, that's the one you liked in the club." Kelly slipped in the disk and the first track lifted their combined spirits until they were all dancing and singing along to the words they didn't completely know.

"_The dogs days are o-o-over, the dogs days are gone. Can you hear the horses because he-ear they come. Run fast for your mother and fast for your father, run for your children, your sisters and brothers. Leave all your love and your longing behind you can't carry it with you if you want to survive. The dogs days are o-o-over, the dogs days are gone..."_

"God I love that song." Isobel smiled for the first time since leaving the club. "So what are you getting done Kel?" Asked Isobel.

"Nipple. I want it to be sexy."

"Won't that hurt?"

"Only for a second and it'll be totally worth it. Ryan will love it. Are you still gonna get one Pam?"

"Yep. Belly button. I want one of those bars, not a ring, they remind me too much of bulls going to market in the olden days."

"Eeeww!" The girls cried.

"Mom is going to kill me if she finds out so you better not tell her, Pam."

"I swear on the grave of Flixy the cat."

"You better, she has you down as the responsible, level-headed one."

"I just aged prematurely. I never really got to be a crazy teenager, I was always following Roy around and being the perfect girlfriend."

"At least Jim doesn't mind you being crazy, you gonna call him and tell him what you're doing?"

"He's having his guy's night so he'll survive without a call. I don't want to crowd him or be a clingy girlfriend. You going to get something done, Issy?"

"I thought about getting the top of my ear done."

"That's so hot, Hayden Panettiere has one there and she's so pretty even if her eyes look sad all the time." Said Kelly, almost speaking like it was one really long word. "What about you, Penny?"

"Not for me babes. I did date a guy with a tongue piercing once."

"Jez?"

"That's him, now that's a piercing I could enjoy!"

...*...

The boys had gotten through a few more hands. Danny was shirtless and showing off his tattoos by request of Ollie, Nick had retrieved and modelled a hideous bridesmaids dress from his own wedding, Ollie admitted his first crush was on Barbara Bush and Mark was sat with a very impressive foot high faux-hawk created by Jim.

Mark won the next hand and selected Danny as his victim. "Hey Jim, were you ever planning on drinking that Ouzo your parents brought back from Greece?" Mark rubbed his hands together with glee.

"I thought I might give it a few years and use it as turpentine." Jim fetched it off a shelf where it had been propping up a couple of Stephen King novels.

"Two shots Danny, drink up." Mark poured out the lurid green liquid into a shot glass. It looked like the kinda stuff that could eat through glass given an hour or two.

Danny knocked it back. "Ready for number two." He said proudly.

"How can you not even flinch?"

"I've drunk worse."

"What was it, toilet cleaner?"

Danny sniggered. "It's really hard to take you seriously with your hair like that man. With it starting to curl at the ends you look like a rooster." Jim took another few pictures on his cell, it had taken thirty minutes and a whole tube and a half of gel but it didn't half look great.

"Drink your medicine and cure that tongue of yours."

Danny took the second shot and coughed a little. "Ok, that was a little worse, it burns like battery acid." He said hoarsely. "Let's play again."

They played through the next hand and betting was pretty much academic now, they all kept in as long as they could unless they were sure they were beaten. Playing the game was just a precursor to the dare. Nick won the next hand and challenged Ryan to spend the whole of the next hand as Robert De Niro which he was surprising good at, meaning every few  
moments they were all bent over in hysterics, including Danny.

It must have brought him good luck because Ryan won his first hand since they started and Danny looked certain he was up for another challenge.

"I pick... Jim. You've not had a dare yet, have you?"

"Bring it on man, I can take it."

"Ok, well you go into the kitchen and we're going to write a little script for you."

"Uh... what kind of script?"

"You'll see. This is going to be a collaborative one."

"Is that within the rules?"

"Jim." Ollie slurred. "We're six guys well on the way to an epic drunkening, Nicky has cross-dressed and Dan's got his shirt off. No, there's no rule about collaboration now bugger off!"

Jim slunk off into the kitchen and played with his cell phone. He wondered if he should call Pam but he didn't want to cramp her style on her girl's night and be a clingy boyfriend. He instead grabbed the last slice of cold slice of pizza and feasted for a moment while he tried not to focus on the hum of creativity coming from the living room.

Five minutes later Jim was called back through and presented with one A4 sized sheet of paper.

"Who do you want me to say this to because I can't get fired right now?"

"Gimme your phone, Jim." Said Ryan with a smug grin.

...*...

They finally got to the piercing place and it was a lot more intimidating than Pam remembered. It was certainly not the usual hangout for four girls in party dresses but Kelly dragged them  
in regardless of their protests.

Kelly got them booked in and they hung around looking at tattoo pictures while they waited to be called.

"Oh Pam, you'd should get this dolphin on your shoulder, it would be so pretty."

"I change my mind too often, I'd get bored of it and I'd have to put wings on it or something. Oooh, I like that writing, I've seen something like that at Jim's."

"Oh god Pam, that elvish! Something to do with Lord of the Rings, I thought Jim was a cool, indie guy? He's like a closet orc-lover isn't he?" Isobel teased.

"An Orc what? No, I don't think Jim is into that kinda stuff. I mean, maybe a little, I saw the first Lord of the Rings. It went on for aaaages." She turned back to the writing. "Still looks  
pretty."

"You can get a tattoo that says 'Jim and Pam forever' in elvish and then get married by a Klingon!"

"Shut up! You seem to know a lot about it for someone being so sarcastic." Pam giggled.

"It's popular culture Pam, it's not like I own Spock ears or something. Maybe Jim will make you dress up like a hobbit or wear those weird ears for a night of romance!"

"Pam Beesly, navel bar?" Said a skinny woman with multiple piercings and tattoos all over her face and body. She had short cropped hair bleached white which Pam thought was very cool. She kinda wished she could carry off something that edgy. She bet this woman had never owned a cardigan in her life.

"That's me." Pam looked around; her nerves were getting to her a little. "Will you come with me, Pen?"

"Sure, but I'm not looking, ok? Oh, and mom never knows I went in with you!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Pam agreed and followed the piercer.

"I'm Nina and I'll be sticking a needle through your skin tonight. You been drinking?"

"A little, just to work up my nerve." Pam lied. She'd drunk more than that but she couldn't back out now. This was like getting her car and apartment, another little Pam triumph. This wasn't even essential, she was choosing this.

"Ok, up on the table and lie back. Pull up your dress and put that towel across yourself unless you want anywhere else done."

"Just my navel please." Pam got up on the table and prepared herself. Nina prepared the equipment and Pam's heart started to race.

"You ok sweetie? You've gone a little pale." Penny comforted.

"I'm fine, I'm excited."

"So do you think Jim will think it's sexy?"

"I don't know, I don't think he's _into_ them but it's about me, isn't it?"

"Damn right." Chipped in Nina, "You know how many girls I get having stuff done for their boyfriends and not themselves? If your boyfriend gives you shit honey then he's not a keeper."

"He'll be fine, he loves me."

"Don't they all say that though? Actions speak louder than words." Nina sat herself on a stool and wheeled herself to Pam's side. "Ready Pam?"

"Can I have a purple one?"

"Just sterling silver for now. I need you to take a deep breath in and then let it out when I tell you. I'm just gonna use this clamp on you and we'll be set to get you your belly bar."

"Go for it."

"Deep breath in and... out."

Pam let the breath slowly out and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt the needle puncture her skin.

"Ow, hunny, not so tight on my hand." Penny winced. "Oh, your phone is ringing."

"Voicemail." She forced out. She was not in a position to take a call right now.

"Almost there Pam, just got to thread in the bar now, you're doing great."

Pam had run out of her breath so tried to take another but the clamp was released.

"There we go. Only a little blood too."

Pam leant up and looked down at the two little balls of silver that hung above and in her belly button. "Cool. So cool." She felt so alive.

"I'm going to give you a pamphlet on after care and I'll give you some antiseptic solution to use every morning and night. No moisturisers or perfumes near the area for a week and if it's  
still red and sore in five days come back and see me. You can change it in eight weeks. Ok?"

"Yeah, thanks, that was really cool."

"You're welcome, and nice hickey too."

"What?" Pam leant up again and saw another of Jim's markings poking out from under the towel. "Oh man."

Penny had up until that point purposefully not looking at the new addition to Pam's body but curiosity got the better of her.

"God Pam, how many are there?"

"Sounds like your sister is having fun." Nina cocked an eyebrow that had two piercings run through it.

"A little too much by the looks of it!"

"You feel like you can get up? I'll give you a hand." Nina's tattooed hands helped Pam off the bench and standing again. "Let's go get your friend."

Pam walked back into the waiting room.

"Ooooh, let's see Pam!"

"I'm not flashing my panties; I'll show you at home."

"Kelly Kapoor, nipple ring?" Said Nina and she guided Kelly and her designated hand holder, Isobel.

"I can't believe you got a piercing Pam! I'm strangely proud, you'd never have even come inside a place like this a year ago."

"I know, I feel like I could take on the world now."

"Oh, remember you got a voicemail sweetie, that'll be from your boy."

Pam dialled up her voicemail and it was indeed Jim. He sounded more than a little odd muttering something about it being her voicemail.

"Ok, he's drunk."

"That should be fun for you." Penny said drolly. "Maybe he'll propose!"

"_Uh... hey Pam."_ There was a muffled sound and some giggling in the background. _"Um, there's something I want to share with you. A deep dark secret. I really, really like... sheep."_ Pam  
snorted a laugh when she heard the laughter in the background of the call. _"I like making sheep noises... in bed. God I'm sorry."_

"_Hey, stick to the script of face a worse fate, Jimmy!" _

Pam could hear how despairing his sigh was before speaking again monotonously. _"I've been having dreams about Dwight. Erotic dreams about Dwight and sheep. He'd make a really pretty sheep."_

Pam had a hand pressed against her mouth so she could still hear Jim over her own laughter.

"_I think about Dwight all the time. Make a baaing noise? Oh, baaaaa. Can that be it now?"_

"_Only a little bit more to go, don't be a nipple flower."_

"_When I think about Dwight naked I feel like a man. A man sheep. Isn't that a ram? Ugh, fine. I think you'd make a pretty sheep but not as pretty as Dwight. I can't wait to be naked again and  
think about Dwight and sheep. Seriously, this is what you all came up with?"_

"Oh sweetie you've got to let me listen to that when you're done if your face is anything to go by." Pam lost the next part of the call when Kelly's scream rang through the building. "Kelly's got a nipple ring."

"_...bye Pam, I'll call you later and... explain."_

"_Wuv youuuuuu, Paaaaam." _Came a chorus from the boys and the message ended. Pam decided to save it for posterity or at the very least mocking Jim mercilessly for weeks on end.

"Ok, I think the boys are playing truth or dare and Jim just completed his dare."

"Wonder if I'll be hearing from Dan soon. What did they make him do?"

"He read out some crazy stuff. You think Kelly is ok?"

"She just had a needle put through something I wouldn't like a needle stuck through but she'll be fine and Issy will tell her to suck it up. She wanted the darn thing."

"Sure you don't want anything Pen?"

"Nope, I think I'm the grown up one now, I have to be."

"What, now that I've gone all crazy?"

"Something like that you mad thing! You gonna let me listen to that voicemail, I want to know what my monkey of a boyfriend is up to."

Pam handed her phone over and flicked through some more tattoo photos. She had fifteen different favourites; she definitely wouldn't be able to commit to some permanent ink. Penny was giggling away and letting the girl on reception listen too. Another yelp from the room suggested Isobel just had her ear done.

...*...

Jim was feeling happier now. He'd gotten revenge on Ryan, Mark and Ollie in three straight hands and was up twenty-five dollars. Ollie had performed a disturbingly enthusiastic rendition of Brick House by the Commodores which didn't seem that much of a punishment considering how much he enjoyed it. Ryan as the mastermind had to flirt with the pizza delivery guy in the bridesmaid dress and do ten push-ups in front of him. He could only manage five though which embarrassed Ryan more than the dress. Mark was currently wearing nothing but his boxer briefs and the sarong from earlier.

"I'm cold." Whinged Mark, hunched over in his chair and pulling the pink transparent sarong around his shoulders.

"Tough. I know you came up with most of the content for my little confession so you'll enjoy that sarong and be thankful you've still got your jockeys."

"It was a group effort and Ollie enjoyed his dare!"

"You all loved my briiiiick... houuuuuuse!"

"Come on, I'm cold." Mark rubbed his arms and pretended to shiver. With the faux-hawk still in place he looked a sight. Jim just shook his head and laughed. "You're such a hard ass sometimes, James."

"You made me tell my girlfriend I had erotic dreams about Dwight and sheep!"

"It's all part of the game!"

"You know I could have you do the same to Isobel."

"Yeah, but she'd string you up by your testicles."

"She would man." Said Danny with his mouth full of meat feast pizza. Ryan nodded too. "Pizza's nice, Alfredo's Pizza Cafe?"

"Of course." Said Jim. "Have some pizza Mark, it'll warm you up and put some flesh on those skinny bones."

"I'll have you know I have a swimmers build. Slim hips. You can tell I've been working out though right?"

"To be honest man I haven't been checking you out but I'll take your word for it."

They'd taken a break from cards to eat more food. It was just gone midnight and they were all flagging a little.

"Mark, quit rubbing against me!"

"I'm freezing!"

"Fine, go put something on but I'm sending a picture of the mohawk to Pam as punishment."

"I'll take that deal!"

"She'll show it to Isobel."

"I can explain that away, it's not like I told her I bleat like a sheep in bed!" Mark darted out the room, throwing the sarong in his wake before Jim could grab him.

"Careful." Said Nick warningly. "You could fall and hit your head on a door handle." He finished smugly.

Jim grabbed a slice of extra cheese pizza and sat on the floor as his guests were occupying all the comfortable seating.

"You guys are crazy." Said Danny. "You think you'll still be living together come Christmas because I bet you guys throw one hell of a Christmas party?"

"Of course." Said Mark as he walked into the room pulling a huge hoodie over his slim torso. Jim kinda half squinted and hadn't answered the question. "You're not planning on moving out are you?"

"No plans... as such."

"As such? What does, 'as such' mean?"

"We should probably discuss this when we're less drunk."

"No! Are you and Pam planning on moving in together? When were you going to tell me? You gonna stick me with the rent?"

"There's no plan, I just kinda see it happening sometime in the future. That's all. We haven't even joked about moving in; Pam's enjoying her independence too much."

"You gonna renew the lease with me when it comes up?"

Jim stayed quiet while he thought over the best answer. "I guess we'll see where we're both at. You're with Isobel."

"Isobel and I have been together for just a few weeks, we're nowhere near all that future stuff and frankly I'm not ready for that yet even if we were."

"I'm just saying that... look, let's talk another time."

Mark turned quietly and left. Jim decided it was best not to follow.

...*...

Pam helped Kelly with her seat belt in the back of the car.

"My boob hurts."

"I know sweetie, let's go home."

* * *

**Starstrewn, Mark in his pants is just for you ;) In my head he's all kinds of hot and lovely ;)**

**I had so much fun writing this and I could have written the boys poker night word for word and made it a story of their own. Next chapter will be exclusively Jim and Pam because I think we all need some time alone with them again. **


	41. Chapter 41

**Monday again. Not much to report other than the fact that I've been spelling Isobel's name wrong, she should be Isabel. I discovered this after already using her name for ages so I'm sticking with Isobel for consistencies sake. I just insti****n****ctly spelt it like an old friend of mine and didn't think twice. E****njoy my lovelies.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-One: Sunday Morning**

"Hey you, is it safe to come in?" Pam asked quietly when she saw her dishevelled looking boyfriend squinting at the morning light. His hair stood at odd angles like he'd not slept in a bed last night. He stood back and let her in.

"Yeah, Ollie and Dan are still asleep on the couch though. They thought it would be a good idea to drink a bottle of Ouzo at about 2am last night. Wanna come upstairs?"

"Sure, I mean, as long as you haven't got any sheep or Dwight up there."

"Oh god, I meant to call you last night to explain." He started to fret but Pam just smiled and skipped past.

"Come on, let's go to your room and have some freaky sheep sex." Pam darted up the stairs leaving Jim behind.

"You're not going to let me forget are you?" Jim said forlornly before slowly following.

"I thought about it but I decided... nope! It's just too, too good." She felt too good this morning and it was too much fun playing with her enfeebled love.

"Ugh, I really need a shower before all this."

"Go ahead, I can hang out." Pam jumped on Jim's already made bed with a great galumph. "Snoop through your stuff."

"Mark's in there."

"Washing away his new style?" Pam giggled but Jim was just hanging around the door and hadn't joined her on the bed. "You ok, you seem a little down?"

"Mark and I... I don't think he's talking to me."

"Did something happen during truth or dare?"

"It was just dares, though I learnt a few truths probably best forgotten. It's nothing; I'm totally over thinking it, we were drunk, it was nothing. You seem really perky this morning; I guess  
girl's night was a success?" Jim jumped on the bedside her and gave her a kiss. He'd talk when he was ready. Hopefully it really had blown over and it was just a drunken argument.

"Oh yeah, it was a blast. I even have something to show you." She had no intention of hiding the look on her face. The sparkle in her eye, the bitten smile on her lips and the arc of her  
eyebrows all said the same thing. _I have a secret._

"Oh really? What more surprises could Miss Beesly have in store?"

"You'll find out. I hope you like it."

"If it's anything along the lines of your new underwear then I know I'll like it. I'm feeling a little boring just wearing my boxers, I feel like I should start wearing fancy Calvin Klein's or silk  
boxers or something."

Pam giggled. "Fancy pants."

"Definitely going to have to up my game. Oh, I have something to show you too."

"Oooh, more sexy revelations?" She said scandalously.

"Yeah, you should bring that up as much as possible." He said dryly much to Pam's chagrin. "So, what do you have for me?" Jim traced a hand across her belly making her wince when he  
hit her middle. "You ok?"

"Yep, you just found my surprise much quicker than I wanted." She lifted her loose camisole top and waited for his reaction. He stared quietly. "So... what do you think?"

"Uh... you've got balls."

Pam reaction erupted so abruptly she ended up spitting as she laughed. "Yeah! Two of them! I had it done last night."

Jim was quiet as he traced his finger lightly around the edge, not too close, just where it was a little swollen. She tried to relax to keep from being ticklish.

"Does it hurt?"

"If you poke it, it does but what you're doing is ok." Pam was getting nervous. The words of Nina the piercer rang in her ears about 'keepers'. She really didn't want Jim to freak out over a  
little piece of metal in _her_ body. "I got it done for me." She said with purpose.

"For you?" He parroted, he moved himself down the bed to get a closer look, still laying on his side with his head propped up on his elbow.

"Yeah, it wasn't about getting a place to live or getting a car because all those things were essential, I had to get those things sorted myself. This was just something I wanted and it wasn't about anyone else but me. I felt like I could take on an army afterwards, like I could do anything."

"That sounds pretty cool, honey." Jim's voice sounded warm. "Did the person who pierced you see..." His finger traced a new circle around the hickey he'd left. He looked up at her smiling wryly.

"Yeah, she did. She thinks I'm having a good time. So you like it?"

"If it makes you smile and look as happy as you do then I love it." He planted a gentle kiss on her stomach that made her shiver with delight and slid up the bed.

"You know the piercer wasn't the only person to see that hickey you left."

"Well I didn't think you'd have your belly on show!"

"And the ones on my back?" She grilled him teasingly.

"Ah."

"Ah indeed!"

"Didn't think those ones would bruise." He said with hidden pride. He'd teased her about marking her as his so no guys would hit on her at the club. Now he was just gazing at her with big eyes.

"Oh don't do those 'I'm-sorry-I-love-you eyes' because they won't work! My sister spotted the ones on my back! Then Issy and Kelly saw!"

"I'm sorry and I love you?" He tried amping up the look in his eyes and adding a dash of his devastating 'you-can't-say-no-to-me' smile.

"Ugh!" Pam held her hand so it was blocking his eyes and smile and Jim just laughed. "Can you at least keep them in places people can't see from now on?"

"I'll try." He lowered her hand and Pam felt all her will to scold him ebb away. "So, no more on your back but... lower is ok?" He pulled her flush to his body and ran his palms down her  
back until they'd reached their intended destination on her behind.

"Yeah."

"Thighs good too?"

"Already got some there. So do you."

"Mmmm, love having them there too. Not that I need any help thinking about you."

"You have a house full of people; we shouldn't get too carried away." Pam tried to keep sensible but Jim was kissing her neck and it was beginning to matter less and less that they weren't alone. She really didn't want Ollie and Danny bursting in on them, Mark was bad enough.

"I can kick them out if you'd like but I'm pretty sure Danny and Ollie wouldn't wake if the world ended. Then again we can be pretty loud."

"Jim! Behave, I was only going to say hello before I ran some errands." She said laughingly.

"And this is how I say hello." Jim lifted himself above her but stopped suddenly. "Whoa, definitely should have had that shower."

Pam smothered some more giggles. He did smell rather bad but she didn't care. "So what do you have for me, mister? What's your surprise?"

"Oh, yeah!" Jim clambered off the bed and grabbed his laptop of his desk before climbing back next to her. "You are gonna love this."

"Ok, if you're really going to show me sheep porn then this is really weirding me out."

"God, I'm going to kill those guys. Seriously, they wrote out a script and I really did not want to know what the worse alternative was."

"It's ok." She hugged round him. "I'm just messing with you. Was it Mark's doing? It's got his signature."

"Ryan picked me and they all did it together. I got my own back. Twice over when it came to Ryan though."

"Hmm, don't mess with Jim Halpert, huh?"

"I have a sense of humour... but this was too good to pass up."

Jim opened up his browser and opened up a YouTube account that wasn't his usual. This one was called 'ryansdanceclass'. Before Pam could say another word a video of Ryan dancing in a  
sarong with no shirt appeared on screen.

"Oh. My..."

"Yeah, it was the first dare of the night. He doesn't know I filmed it yet. I don't think Danny likes Ryan that much either."

"Danny did this?" Pam realised exactly what this was about. "Oh god. He did this for Kelly."

"Explain?"

"Kelly and Ryan had only just started dating when Penny introduced him to us. It was at a Bollywood themed party Kelly had set up. You were invited by the way."

"I was? I would have gone if I'd known you were going."

"Well I wasn't supposed to be there, Roy said we weren't going then he bailed on me to go drinking so I went alone. I got back before he came home, he didn't even know I'd gone out."  
Pam's face twisted at the memory as the silence hung between them. She was talking about Roy while sat on Jim's bed. Not a good move.

"So what happened with Kelly?" Jim asked unperturbed.

"Ryan laughed at her." She remembered how cruel he'd been as Kelly danced so freely with her sisters doing all the Bollywood movie moves. "I think he cares more for her now though he  
wouldn't admit it to a priest or his own mother."

"So Danny was getting back at him for Kelly even though he'd only just met them both?"

"Yeah, it's sweet really." Pam looked at the image of Ryan dancing. He looked utterly ridiculous which felt like a fitting punishment. She wished she'd been stronger to say something to  
Ryan back then. "Twisted. But sweet."

"Well it was obvious they weren't best friends or anything."

"Danny's protective. From what Penny's said it's just been him and his mom for as long as he could remember."

"Oh man. Should I take this video down? It might end up causing trouble."

"Not for Ryan but Kelly will probably go 'street' on your ass if she sees it. Sorry, I mean yo' ass."

"What does 'street' involve? My ass I understand." Jim asked while frantically pressing different buttons on the screen. Pam wasn't familiar with YouTube, she'd only gone on it a few times to watch clips of cats that Angela had sent and the occasional music video that Kelly pointed out.

"You probably don't want to find out." Pam mimicked some cat scratches and hisses. "And you had such a handsome face too." She pouted.

"Well, Ryan's gone now. The internet mourns."

"If it makes you feel better, it was really, really funny."

"You have no idea, they always say seeing a band live is a hundred times better."

"So what else did you boys get up to last night?"

"Just some poker, pizza and talking about recipes and pension plans."

"Yeah right! What happens in Jim's living room, stays in Jim's living room?" Pam parodied.

"Pretty much. I think you heard the worst of it on your voice mail. How about you, did anyone else come home with extra holes?"

"Issy got the top of her ear done and Kelly got her nipple done."

"Ouch! Are you kidding me! How drunk were you?"

"We weren't drunk, just a little tipsy."

"That's a hell of a surprise for Ryan though he'll probably like it a little too much."

"I think you might be right, they kinda suit each other in a weird way."

"Odd couple. Anything else interesting happen last night? Tattoos, petty theft, vandalism?"

"Just because I got a piercing doesn't mean I'm starting a life of crime!"

"Anything you say, sweetie."

Pam considered for a moment telling Jim about the Kiwi but it wasn't her story to tell. Jim was fiercely loyal to Mark and she couldn't ask him to keep that secret, it wouldn't be fair. If Pam was in that position she'd want to protect her friend, especially one with a relationship history like Mark's. Isobel would do the right thing, she had to trust that she'd tell Mark or at least keep away until the Kiwi was out of town. She confessed she was falling for him and trusted him like no other guy, that wasn't a small deal to someone like Isobel.

"So what do you want to do today?"

"Well I've got help clean up a bit, recycle the bottles from last night but after that I'm free, could do with getting out in the fresh air."

"So how about I pick you up in a couple of hours and we go for a walk or a bike ride somewhere?"

"Cycling sounds good actually, the weather is meant to break tomorrow so it could be our last warm day."

"And you want to spend it getting sweaty?"

"In more ways than one, Beesly."


	42. Chapter 42

**Monday! **

**Another chapter for you and we're back at Dunder Mifflin. I don't have any warnings for you, just plot stuff. Stuff and plot. And Jim and Pam. Stuff. Enjoy! (You'd thi****nk I'd have nailed the art of an intro but instead it's just a ramble)**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Two: Tuesday Afternoon**

A roaring summer thunderstorm raged outside and the office hum was drowned out by the relentless pounding of the rain on the windows and the occasional clap of thunder. The air had been so sticky the last couple of days Pam was hoping it would freshen things up, she abhorred humidity, it made her cranky as hell. She stared at Jim's empty desk. He'd been in the conference room with Jan for fifteen minutes, fourteen of which Michael had spent trying to interrupt. That probably meant that the meeting was only supposed last five minutes but it still unnerved her.

"Michael, why don't you go make some calls?" Pam kept upbeat like she was offering a more exciting alternative.

"I'm busy Pam." He snapped as he pressed his ear up against the door. He was still on crutches and would be for sometime which made his attempt to be stealthy futile as the crutches and cast banged into the door and every other object in a three foot radius. "Dammit! I can't hear anything! She's sleeping with him, isn't she? Jim's boning Jan right on the conference table!"

Pam quickly shook that mental image from her mind. "Jim's not sleeping with Jan, at least not right now in the conference room." Pam said calmly. She found that if she stayed as nonchalant as possible, Michael was less likely to escalate.

"Jim's gotta be boning someone, he's been all happy recently. He's getting some; maybe he's still boning the purse girl? Maybe he's boning both of them!"

"That would be hot." Remarked Kevin with a leery grin. "He's so lucky."

"That man is a boning addict, he should go to, whats-it-called? Boners anonymous. Stupid Jim." He grumbled, still trying to peek through a non-existent gap in the blinds.

"Can you stop saying boning please Michael?" Phyllis said meekly. "I'm on a sales call and they just asked me if this was an obscene phone call."

"Fine, I'll say intercourse and Jim is totally having it with Jan!" Michael ungainly climbed up on a set of drawers and pressed his ear up against the window. "This is better."

The door to the conference room swung open meaning Jan was confronted with the sight of Michael's ass as soon as she stepped out. Jim gracefully bypassed the scene and sat at his desk without giving Pam a second look. Michael was practically dragged into his office by an irate Jan Levinson which gave Pam some time. It would have been too obvious if she approached Jim directly so she opened up an IM window instead.

**PamB:** What was that about?

**JimH:** Not much, work stuff. By the way, you're looking particularly beautiful today.

**PamB:** Spill it Halpert.

**JimH:** Hardass.

**PamB:** Don't you know it. Now. Spill.

**JimH:** Jan offered me an interview for a position in Stamford. A promotion.

**PamB:** And...?

**JimH:** I thought it went without saying. I turned it down.

**PamB:** Why?

**JimH:** Lots of reasons. I don't want to move. I don't want to have a career here, it's just a job. Mark would kill me. You. Isn't it obvious?

**PamB:** I don't want you to turn things down just for me though.

**JimH:** I don't want it. Assistant Regional Manager? No way.

**PamB:** Not Assistant to the Regional Manager? ;)

**JimH:** I know, I almost laughed as Jan said it. Seriously, I can't do it. Even if I wanted it, I couldn't ask you to come with me.

**PamB: **I am happy here.

**JimH:** Me too.

**PamB:** If we weren't together, would you have taken it?

**JimH:** It was just an interview, I probably wouldn't get it anyway. You may have noticed I'm not the most dedicated at selling paper.

**PamB:** I know, I'm just curious.

**JimH:** Doesn't matter, this is just a job. Maybe Ryan or Dwight will interview for it.

**PamB:** Why did Jan want to ask you personally? She could've emailed you.

**JimH:** She mentioned some management training scheme, something about fitting in with Josh in Stamford.

**PamB:** That's a lot of effort to go to, something's up.

**JimH: **What do you mean?

**PamB:** Do you think they wanted to move you over to Stamford and close Scranton?

**JimH:** I don't know. I wasn't thinking about that at the time. I guess it's possible. That's not good.

**PamB:** Maybe you should go for the interview or at least think about it. Might not have a job in a month or two.

**JimH:** We'll be fine. I'm staying after all ;)

**PamB:** Consider it.

**JimH:** Are you trying to get rid of me?

**PamB:** No, I just don't want you to end up jobless.

**JimH:** I have savings, enough to keep me going for a several months of unemployment without any worry. My parents drilled it into us all to put a percentage of our pay check away.

**PamB:** Very sensible but you should think about it at the very least.

**JimH:** It's ok Pam, I'm doing this for me. Or not doing this for me. Whichever makes sense. I'm not a paper salesman.

**PamB:** What are you then?

Pam stared at the screen waiting for a reply.

"Hey."

Pam leapt in her chair with fright. "Jesus! You scared me."

"Sorry. Jelly bean?" He offered in way of apology which she took begrudgingly from his open palm.

"Mmm, apple, you are forgiven."

"Don't want to know the trouble I'd have been in if that had been kiwi." Pam chuckled at her own sense of irony. She wasn't fond of kiwis of any sort.

"Fruit shouldn't be hairy!"

"You're so weird about fruit, Beesly."

Pam rolled her eyes. He was referring to her habit of checking bunches of banana's for spiders after reading several reports of venomous arachnids stowing away and biting customers.  
She'd been doing it for years.

"Well when you get bitten by a banana spider don't come crying to me."

"I'll stay away from all fruit and get scurvy."

"I'm just trying to stay safe."

"Safe from tropical spiders and hairy fruit."

"Fruit shouldn't be hairy!"

"What about coconut? You like coconut."

"Well there's a safe distance between the coconut and the hair. Kiwi hairs get everywhere and feel all wrong, like they get under your skin like splinters. Ew, just no."

"I'll try to remember the rules next time we go shopping together."

"Well they are very important; I don't know how you used to survive without me."

"Just barely. So, when Jan leaves do you want to head out for lunch?" Jim leant casually over a spoke quietly so they weren't overheard making plans. After their fruit discussion this  
probably looked more suspicious now but she didn't care.

"In this weather?"

"I have an umbrella big enough for two."

"You want to walk outside in a thunderstorm holding a long metal pole?" Pam questioned sarcastically.

"It's sheet lightning, we'll be fine." Another rumble of thunder shook the office ominously.

"I've made a really nice chicken salad; I'll share it with you." She tried to make the offer sound as appealing as she could.

"Offering to share only really works when you're offering something good like burgers or peanut M&Ms."

"My salad is awesome, it's Danny's recipe."

"Then it probably is really nice. If you don't want to brave the weather I'll stay in with you. I better get back to work, oh by the way; we're going out to dinner this Saturday night."

"Oh really, anything special happening this Saturday?" She said all too knowingly.

"Not that I can think of." He grinned before walking away.

This Saturday was their one month anniversary. One month. It felt like it had been a year since she moved into her new place and started her relationship with Jim. I love you's were said, old friendship boundaries destroyed and new closeness discovered. She'd found Jim and so much more. It had been so new and exciting, she felt like a new person. She pulled her butterfly necklace from under her blouse and toyed with it between her fingers with a smile. Everything was different and wonderful now.

...*...

Jim had made the reservations last night. A special table for two at the Green Dragon where they'd spent their first date. He thought that maybe he should save going back for a bigger anniversary but it just felt right. One month. Three years of wanting to be something more from the woman behind the reception desk and for the last month it had been so much more than he imagined. She loved him back. He felt her love. It had all been worth it.

It was almost bizarre to be living this life. Sometimes he felt like it was happening to someone else. Even though it had been a month he had still spent more time dreaming this life rather than actually living it. Those mornings when he'd wake up with her draped across him, he just couldn't believe it was real. He'd lie quietly and watch her sleep, just present in a moment he wanted to bottle and keep just in case he lost it. That scared him more than anything. Sometimes that fear pushed him to want to move too fast. He knew that he'd marry her in a second if he thought she was ready. There was no one else for him.

He was still counting the number of times he got to use her key. The first time was to let himself in one Sunday when she was in the shower and she'd found him on the couch and questioned the dopey grin on his face that just wouldn't shift all day. The second time and third time was when she'd called in sick and he'd let himself in to bring her supplies, soup and sympathy. The fourth and most recent time he'd used the key was when music was blasting too loud to hear his knocking. He'd stepped inside to find her vacuuming to Meredith Brooks singing Bitch in her peach coloured pyjamas. She was dancing as she swept the vacuum over her new rug, singing at the top of her lungs. He just stood and watched, half imagining this was their home and he'd get to come back to this sight every day. He'd laughed raucously when she'd eventually spotted him and started hurling cushions at him for spying. He wanted to give her his key in return but it was a bit more complicated because it wouldn't just be his space he was letting someone into, it was Mark's too. Pam had never pressed or looked like she was expecting something so Jim figured she understood.

He turned his attention back to his computer screen and closed their IM conversation so it wasn't staring judgementally at him anymore. He really didn't know how to answer that last question. What was he? All he knew was that he wasn't going to uproot his life for this job. Not when everything was falling into place piece by piece. Maybe if Pam was still with Roy, maybe if she was married he would have taken it but he would have taken a job in downtown Baghdad just to get away from that misery. That wasn't the case. Not anymore.

He opened a spreadsheet so at least it looked like he was doing something more productive than mulling over the most amazing month of his life. He really wished Pam had agreed to have lunch outside the office, he was feeling suffocated and Dwight's glaring wasn't helping. He was about to snap at Dwight when a fresh IM window popped up.

**PamB:** Forgot to tell you something. Michael thought you were having sex with Jan!

**JimH: **Like an affair?

**PamB:** Like right there and then in the conference room. He was convinced you were "boning" her. His words, not mine.

**JimH:** Yep, just threw up a bit then.

**PamB:** She's not that bad. She's attractive.

**JimH:** Firstly, she's not my type and secondly, she scares me. Seriously, she's terrifying.

**PamB:** She scares me a bit too. Gotta go. Love you.

Pam signed off as the door to Michael's office opened. Jan walked out, said goodbye to the office and Michael walked her to the elevator. The tension was obvious but everyone was used  
to Jan chain smoking in the parking lot during her visits. Michael had that effect on her. Jim did his best to keep his head down and keep working but if it was even possible, his heart was even less in the job than it was before.

* * *

**Bitch is an awesome song, if you don't own it buy it now and hoover your carpets while si****nging****! 90s goodness!**

**I have a big chapter for you next week but it's needs a lot of tidying up. I've completely lost my writing mojo the past week, everything I write is just... a bit shite. Tried different fandoms but I'm struggling, think I need a break for a week or two. This will still be updated each Monday though, I still hold this story dear to my heart and the next five to six chapters will take us a long way in Jim and Pam's relationship. I think I've got about ten or so chapters left that I want to write, maybe more if I come up with interesting stuff but still ten chapters will be thousands upon thousands of words! Let me know if there's anything you desperately want me to include but I hope I've got most of your wants and desires in my plan. **

**Hope you all liked this chapter, it's ****nice to included more weekday relationship occurings. Also, added Michael :)**

**P.S Fruit should****n't be hairy.**


	43. Chapter 43

**It's Monday once again and time for a bumper chapter. **

**Warnings for swearing.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Three: Friday Evening**

It had been a bitch of a day. Dwight had pushed all his files off his desk during a hissy fit over space which meant he'd spent over an hour sorting through papers he didn't care about while Dwight mocked him. Michael had called five separate conference meetings. He made Angela cry in the first, held a second to apologise which left Phyllis in tears and then spent the other three 'team building' which almost ended in a fight between Michael and pretty much everyone. He'd missed his lunch break due to a long sales call which culminated in them buying nothing. An hour of time invested talking to someone who was ultimately lonely with no intention of buying paper from him. It sucked.

He couldn't wait to get home. He had time for a hot shower and to change before heading to Pam's for dinner and a movie. They were planning on watching The Rock as he was really in the mood for a fairly mindless Nic Cage action flick. He'd seen it a dozen times so it didn't matter if they didn't watch it until the end. He was kinda hoping they wouldn't watch until the end after the day they'd endured. They both knew how to cure a day at Dunder Mifflin together.

Jim finally reached his house almost twenty minutes later than he should after a rush hour shunt blocked traffic but he could feel the day's tension start to slowly melt as soon as he slipped the key in the lock.

_All by myself. Don't wanna be... all by myself... anymore._

Oh shit. His heart began to pound with worry. "Mark?" Jim dashed from room to room trying to find the source of the music. It was coming from upstairs. He found himself standing outside Mark's bedroom door where the music driftingfrom beneath the door. "Mark?" He said softly. He'd been here before and was more than a little fearful of what state his friend might be in on the other side.

_When I was young, I never needed anyone, and making love was just for fun. Those days are gone._

He pushed open the door and found his friend huddled on the bed with his knees drawn into his chest staring into space. Jim climbed on the bed beside him. Speaking as soft as he could he asked, "What happened?"

"I thought she was different. I trusted her." His voice was small, just barely loud enough to be heard over the music. Jim's stomach sank.

"I'm sorry man. Are you sure?"

"Yeah." He said sadly. Jim couldn't believe Isobel would cheat. She seemed so nice if a little intense and her and Mark were so close. He was surely jumping to the wrong conclusion, something else must have happened. Isobel wasn't like that.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Don't know. I really don't want to blub in front of you unless I've lost a limb or something."

"You've seen me cry before."

"Yeah, but you're all manly when you cry, I just sob like a five-year-old who scuffed their knee and smushed their ice cream into the  
sidewalk."

"So? You're hurting; it's ok to get upset when you're hurt. Promise I won't tell anyone."

The song finished and the next love song started to play. Jim considered turning it off but the soppy lyrics might just push Mark to open up. Hopefully things weren't as bad as they seemed and it was just a fight or something fixable.

"Is called me at work." He began. His voice was devoid of emotion as if he was reading a shopping list but he was trying to hold it all in. "Told me she was working late as they had an emergency come in so she'd call me after dinner and we'd do something." He scraped his hair back and rested his head in his hands. "There was a traffic accident on the way home so I cut down her street and her car was there."

"Doesn't mean she lied, maybe someone took over the emergency for her?"

"I waited for a few minutes. After Tina I didn't really know what to do, I was having all these memories about back then, the lies and stories. I mean, I trust... I trusted her; I didn't want to be the suspicious boyfriend who checks up all the time. I promised I wouldn't let myself become 'that guy' after what happened."

"I remember. So what did you do?"

"I just sat there. Thinking. When I made the decision to leave and just ask her about it later, do the sane, normal person thing, I saw her walking some guy to his car with an umbrella." Mark took a deep breath and let it out. "She hugged him goodbye and then he kissed her."

"Fuck man. Was it a romantic kiss?"

"It was on the lips, not long but it wasn't right. She didn't pull back or stop him but she didn't seem that into it. He was fucking huge, looked like a doorman at a really rough club but nicer looking. I couldn't really see from where I was and it was raining but I could tell that much. No wonder she cheated, that fucking chef was just the same. I must be asking for it. I must deserve it."

"Don't say that, you deserve so much better."

Mark started to crumble, his ability to hold back the tide of emotions was breaking. "It's our one month anniversary tomorrow, I got us reservations for dinner and I bought her a bracelet too." He wiped away the tears in his eyes with frustration. "I thought that maybe we were making a go of things. After that first night we just stayed up most of the night talking, I thought we connected. I felt like I could be myself around her and I thought she felt the same. I don't know what I did wrong." He finally broke down and Jim put his arm around him and let him literally cry on his shoulder.

When his sobs started to ease and Jim felt he was ready to listen he did his best to make his friend feel better. "You didn't do anything wrong. I don't know what was going on with her but it wasn't you, it's her." Jim gave Mark the time to cry some more, he'd be more relaxed when he'd let it all out. He hated that Mark was turning it on himself and he wanted to scream at Isobel for what she'd done. It had been so long since he'd seen Mark so happy. He was singing in the mornings, taking care of himself. Hell, he's been learning to cook and reading philosophy textbooks just to make her happy. There had to be a reason for why the guy was there but she'd lied and that was enough to shatter Mark into a thousand pieces.

"Jim, your cell is ringing."

Jim had been ignoring the muffled sound coming from his pocket. "I'll just send it to voicemail."

"It's ok, answer it. You're going out tonight anyway."

"Not now I'm not. We'll order in some food and do whatever you want, Xbox, Playstation, a movie or two, prank call Ollie, anything." The phone had stopped ringing and Mark seemed calmer.

"You don't have to stay, it's not like you're going to be hanging round here that much longer anyway. I really will be all by myself."

They hadn't discussed the conversation from last Saturday, neither of them wanted to bring it up so both of them carried on as normal.

"I don't know what's going to happen but you'll never be all by yourself. We'll always be friends. You've got to put up with me for a while longer yet."

"You're not going to renew with me are you? I'm gonna have to move to some crappy studio apartment, live on my own and be all sad and lonely listening to Celine Dion and Alanis Morissette. I'll end up getting cats or rabbits or something, I'll give them names like Mr Wiggleston and Mrs Socks and go slowly mad and unloved. Then I'll die alone and they'll eat me."

"Rabbits are herbivores."

"That's your _only_ issue with what I just said?"

"Listen, Pam and I haven't talked about where we headed so right now, I'm going to renew with you. We can't live together forever but I'm in no rush to move out. Living with you is a blast."

"Damn right it is." He sniffed. "I guess I should have seen this coming, I mean you'd marry her in Vegas right now if she'd say yes, wouldn't you?"

"No."

"Liar."

"Maybe. Ok, yeah, but I'm not moving out just yet, I like things the way they are."

"Me too. Apart from the whole crying over my probably ex-girlfriend thing." A couple of stray tears escaped again. He was barely holding it together.

Jim gave him a playful nudge with his shoulder. "Come on. I'm not leaving tonight so you better think up something for us to do beyond sitting on this bed listening to Celine Dion."

"Don't knock Celine!" Mark retorted with a snotty sniff. "I'm going to clean myself up a bit, I look a mess. Thanks for staying man. I still can't believe-" Jim's cell started ringing again. "You really better get that."

"Ok, I'll meet you downstairs and I'll order us some pizzas."

"I want garlic bread too; figure I don't have to worry about bad breath for a while."

"I'll order the works."

Jim flipped open his cell on the final ring before it went to voicemail and made his way downstairs.

...*...

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Pam. You home yet?" If Jim was home then he knew what happened. She felt sick to her stomach. She hadn't answered her first call.

"Yeah, got in a little while ago." Jim spoke so solemnly. He had to know.

"I found Isobel crying on my door step. Guess you had a similar thing but with less crying?" Pam paced back and forth across her living room as she spoke.

"Yeah, but I didn't think she knew."

"She saw him drive away. She knows what he saw and it wasn't what it looked like." Pam didn't know why she was defending Isobel, she was mad as hell at her friend. It was some kinda  
of friendship reflex. She looked down at Isobel who was curled on her sofa with a bundle of tissues clasped to her face crying her heart out.

"She lied, said she was working late, what was it supposed to look like?" She'd hated the sound of Jim's voice; it felt like it was meant for her and not Isobel. She knew it wasn't, but she couldn't shake that feeling. That harsh voice wasn't meant to come out of her sweet, gentle Jim.

She glared at the remorseful looking Isobel for putting her in this position._ "You told him you were working late?" _She hissed but loud enough for Jim to hear too. Isobel nodded and buried her face in the cushions on Pam's sofa and burst out into a fresh wave of wails. "I don't think tonight's on anymore. I'm gonna deal with Is."

"Yeah, I was going to call and say the same thing." Jim sighed long and hard down the phone. Like her, he was at a loss of what to do. "Do you know who the guy was? Has she been cheating the whole time?"

"She didn't sleep with him, they just talked and said goodbye and he took her by surprise with a kiss. She didn't have time to react. He's an ex-boyfriend; he's back in town for a couple of weeks. It was just a misunderstanding, I'm sure we can get these two back on track if they just talk it over."

"Are you kidding? She knew his past and she still betrayed him, I don't want him with someone like that, he deserves better."

"Isobel made a mistake but she didn't do anything with him, they just talked."

"And hugged and kissed." He retorted sharply.

"Just to say goodbye, it didn't mean anything." Pam knew full well it was stupid to put herself in the middle but she felt so responsible. "Mark and Is just need to work it out between themselves."

"Listen, I gotta go." He said coolly. Pam hoped that was because he wasn't alone anymore but she felt like he was bailing on the conversation because he was worried about where it was going. She was worried too, they'd never fought before.

"We're still on for tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, I think so; I'll see how things are." Oh god. She swallowed back her own tears and felt like beating Isobel with the phone. Her friend had messed up. Big time.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Not you. I've really gotta go now."

"Ok, I love you."

"Call you tomorrow." And he hung up. He hadn't said 'I love you' back but that was probably the last thing Mark needed rubbed in his face. If it was their anniversary tomorrow then it was Isobel and Mark's too. She looked down at the pitiful sight on Isobel curled up like a child on her couch, clutching a cushion to her stomach.

"You screwed up, Isobel."

"I-I-I know." She sobbed. Her make-up had run down her face leaving her with black streaks down her cheeks. "Will J-J-Jim t-t-tell him what you s-s-said? T-t-that we d-d-didn't sleep  
together." Pam sat next to Isobel and put her arm around her. She could barely get out a sentence. "Oh g-god, Mark thinks I ch-cheated on him a-a-after everything he c-con-confided in me."

"Why'd you lie, Is? Did you even tell him you saw Jonah at the club?"

"I didn't. It wasn't important. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck." She threw herself back and held her cushion over her face. Pam took pity and sat next to her. She was so torn between being a good friend and feeling mad as hell.

"What's going on with you? You are the first one to point out when we're being weak or stupid but you never see it in yourself."

"I know! I'm fucked up. I don't know why I did it."

"You think that maybe you should think about therapy again? Penny can get you in with that guy who's linked to her pharmacy." Pam bit her tongue from mentioning her daddy issues or the fact that her mom had a new 'uncle' to fill her dad's shoes every month. Isobel had always found trouble with guys and now she was the one creating her own nightmare.

"Pff. I don't need therapy." She scoffed.

"Then why'd did you lie to see Jonah?"

"I don't... I don't know but I'll figure it out. I just made a mistake but I'm not going to some stranger and letting him root around in my personal shit and judge me."

"They don't judge, I've saw a therapist when dad was sick. I just don't know how much we can help you, we've been here before. You've got all these ideas and lecturers about how  
things should be and then you do something completely the opposite."

"I guess. I don't know. I barely remember what happened to get me in this mess, it all happened so quickly."

"Ok, start at the beginning, who called who?"

"He called me."

"And... what did he want?"

"He wanted to see how I was doing. That he'd been thinking about me since he saw me at the club. He asked if he could come over so I could tell him what I was up to."

"Oh Isobel." She let her disappointment show. If Isobel was just some random girl and not her friend she'd be supporting Mark however she could.

"I know. Stupid. I told him I was in a relationship; he said he respected that so I thought it was ok." She grabbed the pillow to her stomach and rocked back and forth. "Oh god, oh shit,  
what if I can't fix this? He won't answer his phone, I tried the house, nothing happened, I swear Pam, nothing."

"Then why did you lie and say you were working late? That's the big thing about this. He might have forgiven the kiss if it wasn't your doing but you lied. How's that going to make him feel?"

Isobel was silent apart from the occasional hiccupping sob and just stared down at her lap. "I don't know why I did it. I guess if I told him the truth I would have hurt him, putting Jonah over him."

"You know that's what you did."

Isobel sobbed heartily again and crashed her head into Pam's lap. The curly haired woman gently swept her hair off her face with a maternal touch. It was undeniable she was hurting and she regretted her lapse in judgement but Pam couldn't let her off the hook this time. Maybe losing Mark was the kick up the ass she needed.

...*...

"Ok, pizza, garlic bread, onion rings, mozzarella balls and chilli-tomato dipping sauce is on its way." Jim sat on the couch, a few beers prepared and ready. Mark gingerly sat down next to him. It was almost like his whole body hurt.

"Hmm, a heart attack delivered to your door." His words were missing that spark of Mark but he wasn't just going to bounce back in an hour. It took him months to get over Tina. He wasn't with Isobel as long but he'd opened up to her and that wasn't something he was in the habit of doing.

"So, mindless action movie or mindless army killing?"

"I'm supposed to see Isobel, I should call her and let her know I'm not coming. I don't want her showing up here. I can't face her right now."

"Isobel knows you're not coming. She saw you drive away. She's with Pam."

Mark bobbed his head in acknowledgement. "Did Pam say anything? I mean... you know what I mean, right?"

"She says she didn't sleep with him. What you saw was pretty much the extent of it. He kissed her."

"Ok." He said simply. He hardly moved, just stared ahead like he was upstairs. "Did she say anything else? I need to know."

"He's an ex-boyfriend who's in town for a couple of weeks. They talked but I don't know any more than that except that Isobel's upset, I could hear her crying in the background." Jim was fearful to reveal what he knew but he couldn't make the decision for Mark. His friend could have told him a thousand times to give up on Pam and he never would unless _he_ decided to give up.

"She's upset."

Jim wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question. It was a lot of new information to take in. "You ok?"

"Don't really know. I thought she'd slept with him. I don't know if it changes anything but... I've been picturing them together since I saw them. I just feel so sick, like it's happening again."

"You're going to be alright though; she just wasn't the right girl for you."

"I really thought she might be. She was just so different to anyone I dated before. Funny, beautiful, interested in me. She's crazy smart too but she didn't make me feel stupid. Apart from  
feeling pretty damn stupid right now. Fuck it to hell!"

"I know man."

"I should think myself lucky; girls like her don't usually look twice at skinny nerds like me. I'm a freaking accountant, that's the dullest job on earth to most people. It was a fluke, we  
wouldn't have met if I hadn't helped Pam move, I should be grateful for the month we had."

"You know you're talking crazy now." Jim had been here before, it had taken so long for Mark to rebuild his fragile self esteem and now it was all gone again. "So she's a pretty face, she's ugly underneath and you're too good for her. She didn't deserve a month with you."

"No, Isobel was awesome, yeah she was mixed up but so am I. You can barely make it to a toddler without getting all fucked up nowadays. I don't know... I don't know what to do now." He ran his hands through his hair that was still a little damp from when he'd splashed water on his face.

"It's only been an hour, just give it some time."

"What if... what if it was just a kiss? I mean, Tina slept with that chef for months, Isobel didn't."

"You're thinking about forgiving her?" Jim couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. He wouldn't have been able to forgive one betrayal, trust is too important in a relationship.

"I don't know. She's different, there's something about her, something about us I'm not ready to lose. It's just royally fucked up." Mark polished off his beer and grabbed another. "You  
think I'm insane right?"

"I'm not in your shoes." He did think his friend was a little mad. Temporary insanity, Jim hoped. He wanted Isobel out of his Mark's life forever.

"My shoes suck ass. Pam would never cheat on you. She loves you. I wish I had what you have."

...*...

"I've gotta see him. Explain everything."

"What's the explanation though? He's gonna need a lot more than 'I'm sorry' and a whole heap of tears."

"When did you get so tough?" She smiled before blowing her nose loudly in already sodden tissues.

"Isobel. Seriously. Help me understand this."

"I don't know what to say, ok!" She yelled. "He called, said all these things to me about friendship and how he wanted to see me and reconnect as friends and I thought that would be ok. He only had this afternoon free and I had plans with Mark so I called and I... lied! I don't know why! I just wanted to see Jonah one last time, I wasn't looking to sleep with him or get back together."

"Really?" Pam wasn't sure if Isobel was lying to her, or herself.

"Really! I know I did the wrong thing but I really, really care for Mark and I never wanted to hurt him, especially not like this. I wanted to kill that bitch ex of his when he told me about her.  
The way she treated him was so cruel."

"Did you tell him anything about your ex's? The Kiwi?"

"I told him how many guys I've been with, I didn't go through them all because, well, there was a fair few. You know what I was like for a while. Think I scared him a bit but he didn't respect me any less. Now he does. Shit, I can't believe he saw, I can't believe I didn't push Jonah away. I didn't even want to; it was just so fast, it happened... and... uuugghh."

"Ok, Issy, you're going to have to start breathing ok? You'll get through this."

"Do you think Mark will forgive me?"

"I don't know, sweetie."

"Don't tell Pen, she's moody as hell at the moment. She'd kill me."

"If I don't kill you first, honey."

"I don't like Assertive Pam." She pouted.

"Well maybe you need some Assertive Pam right now. Why did you come to me? Why not Penny?"

"She'll kick my ass."

"Who says I won't?"

"It was just a goodbye kiss."

"Was it?"

"YES! God Pam! He even tried it on and I said no!"

"What! He tried it on? You haven't mentioned that yet! Jesus, Is!"

"I thought you'd freak. It was in my place, he put his arms around me when I was making a drink, whispering about how good we were together. About chemistry."

"So much for respecting your relationship." Pam spat. "I could have told you he would do that, it's always the same. I'm surprised you didn't cave!"

"Thanks for the vote of support Pam." She muttered.

"You forget that Mark is MY friend, he's Jim's best friend and you just..." Pam was getting exasperated, "you just let this happen knowing full well to stay away from him. God, Isobel, if you wanted to get crushed by him again then, fine, be my guest, but you took Mark down with you."

"I-I know." She admitted sadly. "I don't know what gotten into me; I thought I was in control of the situation. I thought I could prove I'd cha nged."

"You're never in control around him."

"I don't want to lose Mark."

Pam choked back the words she was going to say and tried to be less angry. She wasn't doing a good job but she muttered something half supportive.

...*...

"I need something more than beer."

"Sure that's a good idea?"

"I think it's the best idea since I decided to take a short cut down Isobel's road."

Jim couldn't argue, he'd just try and stay sober enough to stop Mark doing anything stupid. "Ok, I'll get something stronger but I want your phone and your keys."

"No drunk driving, no drunk dialling?"

"Those are my rules. Hand 'em over."

"Got vodka?"

"I've got two bottles of wine in the fridge."

"I bought one for me and Is so that makes three... " Mark looked like he was trying to work out if that was enough to get him as drunk as he wanted. Not the healthiest way of dealing  
with what happened but it wouldn't be the first time either of them had sought temporary solace in the bottom of a bottle. "Yeah, alright, you can have my stuff." Mark pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it over just as a text message arrived. "Probably my mom, someone taught her how to text. I'm getting ten a day at the moment."

"Want me to look?"

"Uh, see if it's her."

Jim opened the clamshell phone and brought up the message. "Isobel."

"Ok... as my friend, surrogate brother and person who has seen me throw up my bodyweight in marshmallows on no less than three separate occasions... should I read it?"

Jim looked at the message. "Maybe leave it until you've had time to sleep on it."

"What does it say?"

"In brief. She's sorry. Nothing happened. She'll tell you everything if you still want to know." Jim didn't want to read it out verbatim, if it sounded like Isobel Mark might weaken. They'd always looked out for each other since the first day they met. Mark was the brother he wished he had and he wasn't going to fail him now. He had to do something to protect him from more pain.

"Think you're right, I'm not ready to talk to her. I'm pretty sure I'll be giving her a foot rub and making her dinner before I can even think what's happening to me."

"Can you cook me dinner?" Jim tried to joke but it felt forced.

"Shame pizza is on the way, Nick's been teaching me Coq au Riesling, like Coq au van but with white wine because red gives Isobel migraines. Took me an hour to stop sniggering every time Nick said coq."

Jim laughed and Mark showed a flicker of a smile. "You should keep that up, the cooking thing."

"So I can cook for you and Pam?" He said sadly.

"So you can cook for the future Mrs Mark Ellis and all the little Mark and Markette's running about." Jim was determined to buoy Mark's spirits. He wouldn't end up terminally single, Michael  
maybe, but not Mark.

"You are in dreamland my friend but thanks." Mark grabbed an Xbox controller. "We need to do something before I drive over to Pam's because I badly want to. Can I read the text?"

Jim didn't want to hand over the phone just yet, not until morning. "How about some NBA or WWE?" Jim remembered how Zoey from Left 4 Dead reminded him of Isobel and frankly Jim didn't feel like he had the restraint not to shoot her in the face repeatedly.

"WWE. I need to put the smackdown on something and I might as well do it in spandex." Mark attempted a laugh but it was forced and hollow. He was trying though, he'd always used humour to cover up how he felt and Jim wondered if it would be better for him if he just dropped the act.

They settled on the couch and set up the game. He knew that if the roles were reversed Mark would be hiding all the knives and pills. It was a scary thought actually but he'd been in deep with Pam for a long time.

...*...

Pam was sat under a fleecy blanket with Isobel who'd calmed down a little but still looked tremendously puffy and red. She'd been crying so much she'd made herself cold and shivery. They were both clutching mugs of hot milky tea with plenty of sugar while the rain beat down on the windows.

"You ever kiss a guy when you were with Roy?"

"No. Wait... yeah." The memory flooded back. A moment of madness and two imperfect seconds. "Yes I did."

"What? When?" Isobel sat bolt upright, suddenly alert. Pam hadn't told anyone but her sister.

"I was drunk; it was just a quick kiss, no more than a couple of seconds but it was on the lips."

"Who?"

Pam didn't want to answer. Not because of what it meant to her personally but because she didn't want Isobel to romanticise the Kiwi. She didn't want to make it ok because it had worked out between her and Jim.

"Come on Pam, who was it? Do I know him? What happened? Please, you've got to make me feel better about this."

"That's the thing; I don't _want_ you to feel better about this. What I did was wrong and what you did was wrong too."

"I know, I know all too well that I may have just blown the best thing that's happened to me since... since forever. I'm just saying, no one's perfect. Everyone has a cross to bear."

"I'm far from perfect."

"Did Roy know?"

"No. I'm surprised actually, lots of people saw but it never got back to him."

"People think Roy might punch him? Wouldn't put it past him."

"Me neither to be honest." Not that Roy didn't know Pam had feelings for Jim. He was the one to bring it up in the first place on that fateful ride home.

"So, gonna tell me who it was?"

"No."

"How'd you know you won't slip up again, you did it once. Does Jim know?"

"It won't happen again and yes, Jim knows."

"How do you know? How can I get Mark to trust me again?"

"Be honest, tell him everything and let him decide. He might want to rebuild the trust between you but what's it gonna be like when Jonah waltzes into town next time?"

"I won't see him, I won't talk to him."

"That's what you said last time."

"You see the guy you kissed around town?"

"This isn't about me."

"It's the same thing though, you just didn't get caught."

"Well I'm pretty sure it would have caused a lot of pain for everyone."

"I'm going to text Mark, let him know I'll tell him whatever he needs and that I'm sorry and I miss him and I don't want this to end. I just need one conversation, one chance."

"Ok, but don't expect anything back tonight, he needs to calm down. If I was in Jim's shoes I'd have confiscated his phone."

"Why haven't you taken mine?"

"Because you've actually got some apologising to do."

"I'm going to need some wine after this."

"No wine but you can have ice cream. It's all Penny seems to be eating at the moment."

"Yeah, her freezer was packed full of mint choc chip. She must love Dan if she's letting herself go."

Pam got a couple of bowls and filled them with two generous helpings of ice cream while Isobel sent the text. In the cramped space of her kitchen the meaning of trust floated around in her head. Did Jim trust her less for kissing him at the Dundies while she was still with Roy?

...*...

They'd finished a couple of bouts which Jim had underplayed so he didn't hand Mark's ass to him on a plate. He could understand why his friend's head wasn't in the game. It didn't help that at every opportunity Mark was glugging down his drink. "Dude, you shouldn't drink wine that fast."

"I wanna be drunk already." He half slurred. The phone that Jim had confiscated bleeped to signal a text message. Mark and turned down offers to silence it.

"Well you're fast forwarding the drunk part and skipping straight to the puking if you carry on like that."

"Am I unattractive?"

"Um, I don't make a habit of checking you out but yeah, you're attractive. Very attractive."

"Maybe I'm just crap at sex. She seemed pretty happy, though we haven't done it that much, not in the grand scheme of things. Maybe I'm a shit lay and she was faking?"

"I'm not going to have this conversation where you beat yourself up." Especially not on this topic, he added to himself.

"Well it's not like I can prove I'm good in bed to you!" Mark laughed pitifully. "I'd probably be crap with guys too and I have my own penis to practice with."

"Ok, you are drunk and you've had... two glasses."

"And something else... it was yellow and tasted like banana. Yummy."

"Aww, I was saving that." Jim didn't know what for, but the bottle looked nice. It was another gift from his parent's travels but he actually liked the look of that one.

"I'll replace it. Loads left. You wan' some?" Mark pulled the bottle out from behind the couch cushion while his phone trilled with the sound of yet another text message.

"You are going to vomit soon aren't you?"

"Probably. I'm good a' that even if I'm a shit boyfriend. You good in bed?"

"One day when you're married with kids I'm going to bring up this conversation and we'll laugh but right now you better stop."

"My penis isn't small. I think it's quite decent actually."

Luckily that conversation was halted by the arrival of their food. Jim tipped triple.

...*...

"What do you think Mark's doing right now? He's not replied. I've sent him eight texts now. Actually, make that nine." Isobel pressed send and set her cell down.

"I don't know, honey."

"Can you call Jim? I just want to know he's ok. I miss him; it's our one month anniversary tomorrow. Well, it was until I fucked everything up. I bought him a special edition DVD of Sin City,  
Tarantino directed a scene in it and he loves that film, got loads of commentaries and all the geeky stuff he loves."

"Mark would have loved that."

"I still want him to have it. I want him to know that the whole Jonah thing wasn't because I didn't care. I just... it's like Jonah's a demon I haven't vanquished yet. I'm so stupid, but I've  
been falling in love with him since that first morning I woke up in his bed and his hair was all crazy and then... then he smiled. God, he's got the most amazing smile I've ever seen in my life and when it's meant for me, god, it's like time stops and I'm the only person in the world that matters." Isobel started to cry again. "I won't see that again. I won't feel that again."

"We'll see honey. Grab your phone."

"Ok. Why?"

"Is Jonah's number in there?"

"Yes. But, but I'll delete it." She said desperately. "Anything."

"Good idea."

"And his texts too."

"You have texts from two years ago on that phone? I thought you only got it a few months back."

"No, he text me a couple of times this afternoon."

"We need to purge him from your life. Again." Pam wished Kelly and Penny were here; she wasn't experienced at doing this kind of advice giving alone. "Can you block people on your  
phone?"

"Uh, never tried but if I can I will. Do you think that will help?"

"It'll help you. You know Jonah was never anything special, it was all smoke and mirrors."

"I know, I think maybe I'm seeing that more than ever. Those two summers were just the best and it's hard to think that it wasn't really like that. It's had to take in that I was just a girlfriend to tie him over so his dick didn't get cold while he wasn't at school."

"People like him get what they want because they do appear nice, nasty people wouldn't get that far. He's only concerned with what's good for him."

"I wish I never saw him, I wish he'd never called me Belle. I need to talk to Mark."

"Give him time."

"No! I need to see him now; I'm going to Jim's." Isobel started rifling through her purse. "You seen my keys?"

"Yeah. And you're not getting them back."

"What the hell, Pam! Give 'em back! Now!"

"Remember how I said Jim would confiscate Mark's phone for his own good? Well I'm doing this for your own good and maybe a little of Mark's too."

"I just want to know if this is over. I hate not knowing."

"Come on, let's watch a movie or do something to take your mind off things."

"Pam, help me, please, just call Jim and see how he's doing, please, please do this for me."

"Ugh, fine. But I'm telling him that you want to know, I'm not being your spy."

"Fine, that's fine, I just need to know he's ok and Jim's taking care of him. Ask him if Mark read my texts."

"Ok, I'm going to do this in my room ok? Just stay out of trouble 'til then."

"Promise." She smiled but barely, it was the saddest smile she'd ever seen.

Pam closed the door to her bedroom and sat on her bed. She didn't think this was a good idea but she had her own motive for calling Jim and not wanting Isobel to overhear. She dialled and hoped he'd pick up.

"Hey. Gimme a sec."

She could hear that he was moving rooms for a little privacy. She hoped Mark didn't mind being left on his own.

"I can't talk long."

"That's ok, how's things?"

"Been better. How about you?"

"Ugh, nightmare. Isobel wanted me to check that Mark got her texts and how he was doing. You don't have to say anything but I said I'd ask."

"He got one but I read it, I gave him the main headlines. Been ignoring the others. He's drinking so I took away his keys and phone."

"Yeah, I took Issy's keys but I won't let her drink, only ice cream and ass kicking from me. Before you say anything else, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Um, do you trust me?"

"Of course, Pam. Why do you even ask?" He said disbelievingly which made Pam feel a little bit better.

"Because... because..." She couldn't get the words out.

"What's going on? You're scaring me."

"No, don't be scared." She sighed and resolved that she had to tell him. "I kissed you. I kissed you while I was still with Roy. I was worse than Isobel because I instigated it and I never  
admitted it, how can you trust me after that?"

"Um... well you kissed _me_ for starters."

"Don't make a joke of this, I pretty much did the same thing but Roy never found out. I lied, I never told him. Hell, if I hadn't seen the camera outside I could have made things even  
worse."

"Always wondered what that question was going to be."

"How can you trust me?"

"Well, why'd you kiss me?" He asked simply.

"Because you changed my Dundie. Because I was drunk and so happy and there you were, I just had this overwhelming urge to just kiss you, I didn't care about anything else, just you. It wasn't a big romantic kiss, just, I wanted to do it and I wasn't really thinking about consequences. I just wanted."

"Ok. Well, it happened and I like to think it's because you felt more than just friendship towards me. That maybe that was some sign that you liked me. It gave me hope that we'd be  
together one day. I trust you because I know you and I know you love me and you'd never intentionally hurt me. You trust yourself, right?"

"Yes. I just... I never thought I'd even kiss another guy. I thought I trusted myself back then. I didn't think I was like that."

"All I know is that I love and trust you, that was a weird and crazy night but it hasn't changed anything."

"I'd never do that again, I won't kiss anyone else, I promise."

"There's no need to promise, I already know." The warmth of his voice did as much to convince her as the words themselves. It had still happened though.

"Are you both ok there? I'm so sorry about all this, Isobel knows she's messed up and it could have cost her everything. I guess part of her wants to know if she should give up or have hope that they can fix this."

"I don't know what to say, Mark's all over the place. He's insecure, doubting himself, turning this whole situation on himself and frankly, getting drunk isn't helping at all but I'm staying fairly sober so I can keep an eye on him."

"God, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault; you're not responsible for Isobel."

"They'd never have met if it weren't for me."

"You can't blame yourself for this, it's between them. Listen, I've got to go, I can hear Mark talking to himself."

"Talking to himself?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, well, tell Mark I'm thinking of him and I hope he's ok."

"I will. He still likes you, he doesn't blame you. If anything he's blaming himself, I'm trying to stop that."

"I'm trying to figure Isobel out, she just hits this self destruct button sometimes and all hell breaks loose. It's the first time she's hurt someone other than herself though."

"Mark will heal eventually, he doesn't know what he's going to do yet, he really liked her."

"Isobel really liked him too, even felt like she was falling in love with him."

"Shit, this is screwed up."

"I know. Look, you better go back to him, I don't trust Isobel not to have drunk my entire wine stash."

"I really do love you Pam, sorry if I was short with you earlier."

"That's ok, I understand, I love you too."

"If I get a chance I'll call you before bed or send you a text."

"I'd like that. Bye darling."

"Bye my beautiful Pam."

...*...

Jim walked back to the living room, sat back down next to Mark and grabbed the biggest onion ring and slathered it in sauce. "Mmm. Too good not to be healthy."

"She called."

"Who?"

"Is. She called m'cell when you left the room." He was still slurring a little drunkenly but trying his hardest to sound and look sober.

"Oh." Jim looked at his messenger bag where he'd stashed Mark's phone. The flap was open and the zip undone. "So you answered?"

Mark just nodded.

"So Pam called me to distract me?" Jim rankled, but he waited for the answer before deciding how angry he was going to be.

"Isobel sent Pam away; figured you wouldn't let me talk. Pam didn't know."

"Ok. So what happened?"

"I said I didn't wan' see her anymore."

"I'm sorry, man."

"It's ok. It was the lie which did it, coulda forgiven the kiss, I believed her when she said she didn't want him. She didn't really have a reason for lying. She just said she was sorry and it didn't mean anything and she was jus' trying to get some closure with 'im. The way she said his name, it didn't sound right, you know."

"I'm so, so sorry."

"She was crying, said she was falling in love with me. I yelled at her then, said she wasn't being fair. You don't lie to the person you're falling in love with, you don't kiss someone else, you don't just fuck everything up and then say it's alright because you love me. I can't believe she said that, I don't know whether she meant it or she's playing me."

"I think you did the right thing by ending it."

"Then why do I feel like my insides have been in a fight and lost?"

"Because doing the right thing doesn't always feel good. It'll all be worth it in the end, you'll be stronger after this and you'll meet someone perfect."

"You ever lie to Pam?"

"Not like this, I covered up that I liked her."

"You covered up that you were hopelessly in love with her, Jim, remember? I was there for the whole angsty show."

"Ok, ok, ok. I covered up that I was hopelessly in love with her for years. No big lies."

"Never lie to her, ok?" Mark's eyes could be immensely powerful; everything he was feeling could be read in his chocolate brown irises.

"I won't. I promise."

Mark let out the longest sigh. "Tell me I'm not gonna be eaten by rabbits."

"You're not going to be eaten by rabbits, cats, dogs or anything that shouldn't be nibbling on you."

"I'm pretty sure I jus' did the most stupid thing of my life."

"By breaking things off?"

"Yeah, I mean I could have forgiven her in time, I was jus' so angry and drunk when she called, told her that I could never trust her again and there was no point tryin', said I couldn't even  
look at her without my skin crawling."

"Ouch." That wasn't a very Mark-like thing to say, he rarely lashed out like that.

"Yeah, bit of a shitty thing to say, just wanted her to shut up about how good we are together. How good we _were_ together. Was Pam ok?" Mark put down the drink he was holding and  
exchanged it for a large mozzarella ball.

"She's alright, wanted to talk about stuff. She's probably beating seven shades out of Is right now. She's on your side by the sounds of things, says she's thinking about you."

"That's sweet, but then I already know Pam's great. You got lucky there, think what might have happened if you hadn't been a freaking idiot and left your iPod behind. Twice."

"I try not to think about that. You wanna do something?"

"Yeah, eat, I'm really hungry. I skipped lunch today, we're so screwed at work, I can't pick up a new client anywhere, I'm getting worried about my job." Mark shoved a huge slice of pizza  
into his mouth and tried to gather up the strings of mozzarella before they hit his work shirt.

"Don't worry, they love you there. I've got you covered if the worst happens, you'll get rehired somewhere, you're a great accountant. And you've never been arrested, that's a plus."

"Mrue." He said with his mouth full.

"Not that we didn't try sometimes. Remember when we stole those shopping carts and left them in Jason Underwood's front garden. His mom called the cops."

"Well his weekend job was collecting them for K-Mart. I remember how you tried to convince him he was collecting them in his sleep." Jim smiled and chewed on a crust. He'd almost had him convinced when his girlfriend said that Jim was just playing with him. She was far too smart for a guy like Jason and Jim had a small crush on her back then. Nothing ever came of it though. "You know he still works there?"

"Collecting shopping carts?"

"Nah, he's some supervisor. Would be funny to do it again though." Mark gave him a pitiful yet appealing look.

"We're too old for that, Mark." This was the reason he was supposed to be staying sober.

"My job's on the ropes, I've just ended the most promising relationship prospect in my life and I'm pretty sure I've got an in-growing toe nail. I pay all my bills the day they come, brush my teeth twice a day, call my mom four times a week and visit twice and I always give change to that weird homeless guy by the bakers. I need to do something stupid. Stupider the better."

Jim didn't put up any more of a fight. In a weird way it made sense and he'd pretty much go along with anything to make Mark happy tonight.

"Yeah, alright. But not until it's really dark, its stopped raining and you're sober, can't go getting arrested at my age, it would be embarrassing more than anything. Your mom would kill me  
or make me paint her house or something." Hopefully Mark would forget and they'd end up just watching DVDs and falling asleep on the couch.

"Yeah, she would. What would Pam say?"

"She got a navel thing, I got a criminal record. I say it all evens out."

"Yeah right..."

Mark had gone quiet again. "You alright?"

"I miss her already. I keep pushing it out my mind and then I remember and it's all fresh again. I just want to go back to a few hours ago. She was special, even after today, she's still so special. I'm such a loser."

* * *

**It's going to sound stupid but my intention is not to make you all hate Isobel. I wanted to give a sense of things happening around Jim and Pam that we aren't seeing but we get to witness the fallout. We've all got our issues but our understanding and control over them can waiver. Isobel has a whole heap of stuff to deal with and all relationships are subject to timing. Mark's not perfect either though he got the shitty end of the stick in this situation. **

**It also wasn't my intention to make a comparison to the Dundies kiss when I planned this plot point. I was imagining what kind of comfort Isobel would seek from Pam and I thought she'd might ask if she'd ever slipped up and I thought back to her kiss with Jim. I'd completely forgotten about it until then. I thought it was actually kinda cool to address that issue of trust between them because frankly, Pam can do no wrong in Jim's eyes and Pam strives to be perfect. She doesn't like to see herself as fallible or flawed. **

**That's enough post-chapter analysis. Thanks everyone for reading and as always feedback is appreciated. **


	44. Chapter 44

**So welcome to your new extra update day. Breathless will now update Mondays and Fridays. It's 1am here so that counts as Friday. It's always the case when I decide to step away I get a breakthrough in one of my stories and this time it's Breathless. I also figure with something that's as long as this story has become it'll take months for you guys to read if I only update weekly and you'll get bored or lose track.**

**On to the story. It's anniversary night and we're picking up a little later in the date. **

**Warnings: Smut. And some schmaltz. Because I figure in the privacy of their bed they can get a little soppy.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Four: Saturday ****Night**

The front door slammed behind her and she found herself being slammed into it too. She hadn't taken a breath before Jim's lips were pressed hard against hers along with the rest of his body and he wasn't letting up. His hands were everywhere, feeling, gripping, pinning her.

It was her own fault that she was oxygen deprived. They'd split the cost of a taxi so they could both enjoy the wine at what was now referred to as _their_ restaurant and she'd spent much of the meal and the ride home teasing her boyfriend into a frenzy.

She'd let him run her hand up her leg shortly after they'd ordered so he felt the stockings she'd finally plucked up the courage to wear. He'd had to cover up the noise he'd made with a loud cough when the next table looked over. She'd let him play with the straps feel that elicit bare skin at the top of her thigh whenever he'd wanted which was almost constantly.

She'd spent her time tracing little circles up his thighs but never reaching where they both wanted to be no matter how much he'd pleaded with his eyes and shifted towards her touch. There were in a restaurant after all, one Pam hoped they'd be visiting a lot. Her teasing continued mercilessly. While their food was served she held his hand and stroked her finger tips along the length of his long index finger the way she had a few nights previously only that time it wasn't his finger she was enjoying.

They were so worked up they'd ordered desserts to go and got in the taxi. Jim had tried to get the upper hand, whispering promises of what he had planned for her when they got home and how much he needed to see what under that dress and he'd rip it off if he had to. Pam took back control by describing the silk underwear, how it felt to put it on, how it turned her on to be wearing it just for him. All the while she was nibbling on his sensitive earlobe and stroking lightly down his neck and chest with her nails, making his skin extra sensitive, even to her breath on his neck.

Back in her apartment Pam could finally taste the air again. "God Pam, you've made me crazy." He said breathlessly, dragging in huge gulps of oxygen. With swollen lips and ruffled hair he looked as debauched as Pam felt. "God I never imagined..." It was like he'd spent too much time away and kissed her hard again before he could finish his own thought.

Her dress was already sliding down her arms and towards the floor; he'd started to unzip her before she'd opened the door.

"Let me see you." He stood back just a little and helped the dress fall to the hardwood floor. He kept one hand against her belly in warning that he wanted her right where he had her. "God you'd look sexy in anything but this? Jesus."

Pam stood still; her entire body was flushed pink from all the build up and she was still wearing her heels. Jim lust clouded eyes took in the sight before him. It was the black silk set she'd bought ages ago now but only recently had the courage to wear out. She'd put it on a few times when she was alone but never for Jim. It still felt foreign to wear but she felt confident that Jim would appreciate the effort. She was still pressed against the cold door as he ran his hands over the smooth cups of the bra, stopping to stroke the silk and everything he found beneath it. He traced the line over the suspender belt detailed with a little delicate lace, slipping his finger between silk and skin.

"No one's ever worn one of these for me. I don't want to take it off."

"Then don't."

Jim tried to say something in response but Pam was back pressed against the door again and Jim was kissing and testing his teeth down her neck. She was surprised that she'd loved the feel of his bite, asking him for more when she got close to coming. Nothing else but the two of them existed in those moments. She trusted Jim more than she'd trusted anyone before. "Maybe we should- ahhh... mmm." Jim's fingers were rubbing the silk lightly between her legs and she had to rely on Jim to keep her upright as her legs lost the will to be legs anymore.

"Wanted to do this earlier, right there in a taxi." He whispered in her ear. He upped the tempo sharply, swirling his fingers and taking her higher still.

"God!" Pam tipped her head back so it slammed against the wooden door. "Ow."

"Sorry." Jim wasn't sorry and Pam wondered how many times they would give each other concussions. "Love watching you." Jim purred into her ear, his voice was working as well as his hands and nimble fingers. She'd take all the concussions in the world to feel as desired as she did.

"Bedroom?" She squeaked out. "Nope, want you to come right here." He kissed her hard and his hand went crazy, moving smoothly and pushing inside her, the heel of his palm putting exquisite pressure where she needed it. He'd just pushed her underwear aside, something Pam realised she liked a lot. His other palm was just kneading her breast roughly through the silk. Her whole world was starting to swirl. She couldn't hang on any more as she shuddered around him, hanging on to his shoulders for dear life as she felt that exquisite ache on her shoulder from his mouth.

She was still dazed as he lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom. He laid her gently on the bed and cuddled up around her. If it wasn't for the reminder that he'd hadn't come pressing into her hip she wouldn't have thought he needed anything but just to lay here with her. She was used to more insistence and a lot less patience.

"You're so damn beautiful, Pam, you don't even need to try." He held her tighter still. God, how did she get this lucky, she wondered.

"You shouldn't say those things, gives a girl an ego."

"Don't care, you deserve it."

Feeling her strength return she sat up and rolled him on to his back so she could sit astride him. "You're still wearing all your clothes."

"Yours were more important."

She set to work unbuttoning his shirt and caressing his chest as she revealed it. She'd never get bored of this sight. "What would you like? I'm all yours."

"You shouldn't say those things, makes a guy want to handcuff you to a radiator so you can never leave."

Pam giggled. "Handcuffs, huh? Well, I'm not going anywhere, at least for the night." She'd pulled off his shirt and set to work on his smart pants unzipping them... "Oh my..."

"Well, you've been wearing such nice stuff recently all my stuff looked boring." Jim had his hands on her thighs, idly playing with her suspender straps again.

"So you decided to wear nothing?" She teased at his bare hips and pressed her hands so they massaged up to his flat stomach and down again, ignoring his rather insistent looking hard on. A month of working out and boxing with Danny was starting to show. His abs were becoming more defined and his muscular arms were becoming Pam's new fetish, she loved that line where his shoulder muscle met his bicep and would touch whenever she could, even at work she found herself sneaking a touch when people weren't looking. "We'd have never made it through the appetiser if I knew about this. Must really have been torture for me not to touch you?" Sat on top of him in her sexiest lingerie was making her want him even more.

"Yeah, I'll forgive you but, god you need to touch me soon." He nearly growled.

Although tempted to torture him more she'd asked him what he'd like so she happily obliged. He was so wound up he groaned and arched to her touch. She loved how much he seemed to want her and she secretly hoped he'd never been like this with anyone else. "I said anything you want." She was right there again and wanted them to be united again, to feel so close they were like one person. Pam slipped off her panties but left everything else on. She climbed up and-

"Whoa, Pam, condom?"

"Oh my god, can't believe I forgot." She grabbed one from her bedside table and placed it on him as quickly as she could, fumbling a little in her haste. "Perfect."

"Love you." Jim helped her above him, placing one hand gently on her hip and another tenderly cradling her face as she sank down on him. "God, at last. Feels so, so good."

"You feel perfect." She just sat still, feeling complete in a way she hadn't felt with her other partner. She leant forward to kiss her love and moved slowly to begin so she could make this last and be amazing for Jim. Their kisses were as slow and sweet as their movements, tongues gliding slowly and tasting each other like they were each other's favourite dish. She sat back and could feel Jim starting to lose control as he pushed up against her and let out more utterances of love.

Pam's silk covered knees kept slipping against the sheets making it difficult to keep steady and keep from losing her position. She slipped jerkily to the side. "Oof, sorry." She smiled apologetically.

"Come here." He husked. He wrapped his arms tight around her waist pulling her tight against him. "Try this." He moved his feet so his knees were bent and he could use the leverage to set his own, smooth but powerful pace. He was hitting a completely new angle that was making her dizzy. "I like having you close." She did too, she loved it when as much of their skin touched as possible.

Pam buried her head in the crook of his neck, knowing how much he loved to hear how good it felt, how she only wanted him, how'd they always do this. One month and she could say all those things without doubt. She should be scared but it felt right.

"God Pam, needed this all night. Needed you for so long."

She could barely breathe now. He was holding her so tight and she could feel he was close. She was close too but staying like this was perfect too. She made a little experiment a ground her hips and he growled his appreciation. "More, keeping doing that." They found a rhythm together and just let herself give in to each charge that ran through her as it built and built.

The next thing she knew Jim had laced his hand with hers so she was pressing it down into the mattress by his head. He was shaking as lost his rhythm. Just the small act turning so she could see him as he lost it pushed her over the edge too. _Beautiful._

The world slowly came back into focus as they both caught their breath. "Wow."

"Yeah. Wow." Jim laughed. "I wanna do that one again. And again. And again."

"Kiss me." She demanded as she moved herself off him before their protection became pointless. Kissing made the whole process a little more romantic. She lay down beside him and pulled the covers over so they didn't get cold. "We need to... Jim?"

She gave him a poke in the shoulder. He was spark out. She didn't know how he did it, in five minutes he'd be awake and hard as a rock again. Not that she complained, she rested her head on his chest and joined him in a quick nap.

She stirred when she felt Jim's hands exploring her lingerie again. "Love the black against your skin." He slipped a strap down but made no effort to remove her bra. "Love you."

"I love you too." She turned into their usual cuddling position where Jim was wrapped around her but they could still focus on each other. It was like they created their own cosy space that was impervious to the outside world. This time Jim pulled her leg between his so he could feel what she was wearing and be entwined as well. "Can't believe you went out commando."

"Well I'm a bit behind on my laundry. Been spending too much time with my insatiable girlfriend."

"Time well spent. Listen, I wanted to ask you something before your sex coma."

"I thought it was called a sex nap?"

"_That _was a coma but I take it as a compliment."

"We did have a few hours of build up. So, what did you want to ask? How come I'm such a stud?"

"I already know about your studliness. You think about Michael and Dwight getting sweaty together so you can last forever."

"Oh now we have a rule about never mentioning their names in this bed! God Pam, I may never recover from that mental image, you've ruined me forever!"

Pam just giggled remorselessly. "Anyway, stop distracting me."

"My lips are sealed." He mimed a zipping motion and some sort of elaborate locking mechanism.

"Well...I was gonna suggest that we ditch the condoms."

"Babies already, Pam? Thought we might take a vacation together first, maybe move in..." Pam gave the hair on his chest a tug. "Ow, ok, I'll be serious! It sounds like a good idea, so you want me to get tested, right?"

"I think we both should." It was only fair. She'd trusted Roy not to stray but she couldn't ask Jim to trust Roy that much, he wasn't the one engaged to the guy.

"I trust you, I mean you were monogamous."

"Yeah, but I think it's something we should do together, it's not like you've slept around and you've always been safe. I'm the one who almost forgot."

"I guess you're used to not having to worry, I've never had sex without one."

"I feel kinda special that you'll have that first with me."

"It would be really good actually; I could actually have sex with you against the door next time. Always wanted to do that." He grinned. "So you're going to go on the pill or something?"

"I do the injection now, I'm terrible at remembering to take pills and seriously, false alarms are not fun if you're not planning for kids."

"You... had scares?"

"Oh." She cursed internally, why did she share so much when they should be making love again? Jim had always been honest with her though and that openness had made them stronger. "A few actually. One when I was seventeen, again when I was twenty and another last year."

"Last year? Sheeze."

Pam sensed that 'sheeze' wasn't the word he said in his head. It certainly wasn't the one in hers at the time.

"Yeah, remember bring your daughter to work day? I was a day late then."

"Holy... why didn't you say anything?"

"Wasn't something I wanted to share with anyone at that point, I didn't even tell... you know. I just focused on buying candy and getting them to like me, just one of them. Maybe it would have been a positive sign."

"I don't know if this is the most inappropriate thing to say right now but I'm so unbelievably glad you weren't pregnant."

"Me too, I wouldn't be here for starters."

"I don't know, if you were a single mom I'd still love you."

"Really? That wouldn't have mattered?"

"Of course, for you it wouldn't. I prefer it this way though, just you and me."

"I like that too, just you, me and my fancy underwear."

"In fact, we should lose one piece, but this..." He slid his finger under the material above her hips. "...this stays."

"I can do that."

"I mean forever, you can never take this off. Ever. I mean it." Jim had rolled her on to her back and was lazily removing her bra. "I've still got lots of promises from the taxi to keep." With the bra carefully thrown on top of her dresser Jim seemed to take a second to gaze down at her vulnerable but trusting position beneath him. "Can you believe it's a month since I accidently told you I loved you?" He ghosted a few kisses on her collar bone and her neck, so gentle like they had all the time in the world. He paid special attention to the love bite he'd made when she'd come against the door. It was a good and pleasurable soreness.

"I wonder how long you would have waited."

"Couldn't hold it in any more, surprised I didn't tell you that evening we met in the park." His kisses continued, his lips only slightly warmer than her skin that felt like it was radiating heat. "I'm not going to stop saying it now. I love you." He kissed. "I love you." He kissed the top of her breast. "I love you." Pam sucked in a breath with a hiss with the location of his next kiss. "And I love your clumsiness in heels."

"I love your forgetfulness." She sparred back as his little dig. Twice he'd left that iPod. Twice she'd snooped. Once she'd fallen in love with Jim Halpert.

"I love that you're nosy." He was kissing torturously slow paths across her body, finding his way to those little sweet spots he'd spent hours discovering and savouring. Some she didn't  
even know she had before Jim. It wasn't due to superior skill or that he was some sort of sex god, he just seemed to want to know every inch of her body better than he knew his own. He'd listen to every caught breath, soft sigh or goddamn howl like it was his oxygen, like he couldn't live without her.

"Nosy with good intentions." She pushed his hair back so she could see his face. "I wanted to know you."

"You always had me. Everything you wanted to know." He moved lower now, the kisses becoming mixed with little licks on her stomach. Her whole body was relaxed yet more alert to each touch than before; her head was beginning to swim again.

"I love that you don't have to hide that anymore."

"I love that too." He swept a finger around her silver decorated navel. Pam smiled, he hadn't said anything but she could tell that touching it freaked him out but he always paid attention  
in some way.

"You have me too, you know that right?" She touched his face, that first hint of stubble rough to the touch, because she _needed_ him to know. She'd ignored it for so long; he deserved to know how much she felt, she wondered if that feeling would ever leave her.

"I do. Never get bored of hearing it though." His grin was so easy and goddamn charming, no wonder she was jealous of the purse girl, she didn't want anyone to see that smile but her. She stopped his journey south and pulled him back up for more kissing, more skin touching and more of everything.

Soon they found themselves moving as one again, this time less urgent and a little more coordinated since Jim wasn't the one in tights. Their kisses dissolved into something that was more akin to sharing the same air with their mouths parted, just a hairs breadth away from each other. She loved the way Jim's back arched to compensate for the height difference so they could be face to face. Everything about how he moved was slow, intense, purposeful. It was about so much more than the finish line. Of course there were those times when that's what Pam wanted, even the timid wannabe artist had those 'gotta fuck your sexy brains out' moods, but tonight, this moment, was about so much more.

It was about them sharing something special, something sacred. Pam had never really thought about sex as sacred before. Fun, satisfying, intimate definitely, but sometimes with Jim, they way he looked at her, it felt so intense that it was like they were doing more than sharing their bodies, but their minds and everything about themselves too. Pam wished it was something she was talented enough to paint, to show that feeling in colour and abstract shape. Maybe she was dizzy because of the lack of oxygen or just the newness of their relationship but she never wanted to lose this feeling.

Pam was starting to feel that familiar building feeling, she'd already come twice, she didn't expect another so soon but now she needed more. "Faster, please."

"Really?" He sounded shocked and proud in equal measure.

"Don't sound so pleased with yourself!"

"I can't help my godlike powers."

"Just shh, and-" She made herself clear by grabbing his behind and wiggling a little. As much as she could wax lyrical in her mind, she could get a little impatient sometimes when she got that restless feeling.

"Anything for you."

* * *

**I know, I ended it before it was expected but you know where it was headed! Couldn't resist a little Jim and Pam banter at the end there because they'll always be them. **

**Feedback is always appreciated on chapters where I'm a little uncertain on content. I'm also relying on my little hit counter doodad page to make sure I've got people still hooked and invested so many chapters in. Hope you e****njoyed this chapter and I'll update this Monday.**


	45. Chapter 45

**Monday update time.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Five: Su****nday Morning**

Jim woke to the sound of his cell phone vibrating in his pants pocket on the floor by Pam's bed. He commanded the one hand of his that was awake to grab it and answered it just before it went to voicemail.

"Hmph?" His voice hadn't woken yet and his mouth felt clogged up with sleep goo. It didn't help that half his face was crumpled into the pillow too.

"Jim?"

"Oh, hey mom."

"Did I wake you?"

"It's Sunday."

"It's ten in the morning, dear."

Jim wasn't going to get into a debate on appropriate weekend rising times though he was half tempted to say that you should earn an extra half hour in bed for every orgasm you give and receive. That would see him through 'til midday he thought proudly. "What's up, mom?"

Pam stirred beside him and muttered something about loud noises before her cup of tea and drifted off again.

"Your father's having his cast removed this week so we've booked a trip away for the weekend after, got a wonderful last minute deal to Santiago in Chile!"

"That's brilliant, you guys have a great time. Oh, Mark drank my banana liqueur so if you see any at the airport think of me."

"Well, I was actually calling to see if you and Pam would like to come to dinner the Friday before we leave? I know it's after work but we'd love to meet her properly before we go." She sounded genuinely enthusiastic and it was too early to be suspicious. He had to give his mother the benefit of the doubt.

"I'll ask Pam, see if she's free." Jim didn't want to give away where he was right now; it was more than his mom needed to know.

Pam's head popped up off the pillow looking suitably dishevelled and utterly beautiful. _"Free?"_ She mouthed. Jim mouthed back that it was his mom. She nodded and offered to make some coffee and slunk out the bed, putting only a light cotton dressing gown around her. Now he was having thoughts he didn't want while his mom was talking into his ear.

"Lovely, well if she's able to come I'll be preparing dinner for eight so you should get here about seven so we can chat and get to know your special person. It'll be lovely!"

Special person? Huh.

"Sounds good. You inviting anyone else?" Jim wasn't sure if he was ready for his brothers to show off in front of Pam. He'd actively avoid it at this point.

"Just you and Pam. Is she allergic to anything or a vegetarian? She's not a vegan is she?"

"She eats meat. She's not big on seafood except shrimp but she likes fish."

"I'll stick to something simple like a roast and a banoffee pie or a pavlova." Betsy said excitedly. Jim rubbed his eyes, still not quite awake and knowing he'll be getting questions all week about the menu. His brain was trying to catch up. "Got some beautiful French beans this year, does Pam eat those?"

"I think so."

"Oh, a summer fruit pudding would be lovely! I froze some blackberries and red currants a few weeks ago, fresh from the garden. We've got plenty of strawberries and raspberries too."

"Sure mom, whatever you want." When his mom got on the topic of food, especially home-grown food it was difficult to stop her. "Dad ok?"

"He's fine, keeps complaining his arm smells but he can give it a good scrub on Wednesday. He's got a few weeks of physio after that to get his strength back."

"Sounds like you're almost at the finishing line."

"I hope so; he's been driving me up the wall. I better call your brother; we'll be arriving a few hours late on the Fourth of July as we've got to come straight from the airport. Are you still going to Pam's parent's house?"

"Yes, I'll see the girls soon though, was thinking about taking Pam too."

"They do miss their uncle Jim and they'd love to meet Pam too. You take care dear and remember to ask Pam, a week on Friday at seven."

"I will, uh, thanks mom."

"You're welcome."

He hung up and let out a big breath. Meeting the parents. Specifically, _his parents_. His mom had been remarkably upbeat and enthusiastic too, it caught him off guard. He was waiting for the catch but it hadn't shown up yet. He walked through to find Pam in the kitchen without bothering to put on a stitch of clothing. She had the radio on making a pot of tea for herself and coffee for him.

"Smells good."

"Me or the coffee?" She said cheerfully without turning around.

Jim stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms her waist and nuzzled into her neck. "Definitely you."

"How's your mom?" Pam continued doctoring her tea the way she liked it first thing in the morning with extra sugar and less milk. Jim had no intentions of letting her go even if it was little uncomfortable bending over in a way that meant his bare behind didn't press against the cold fridge door.

"She's very perky today, she invited us for dinner. Friday after next."

Pam froze. Jim did too. Uh oh.

"I said I'd see if you're free, if you're not ready that's fine by me. I won't be offended."

"I want to meet them, I really do, I just kinda forgot I had to. A week on Friday then?"

"Seven pm sharp."

"Ok, I'm ready to meet your folks." She said assuredly. "Then the weekend after will be my folks, sounds about right. We're just commitment central at the moment." Pam turned in his arms to give him a kiss. "You're naked!"

"I know." He grinned.

"In my kitchen!"

"You're only wearing a robe Pamela Beesly." He opened it up and moved her close so it wrapped around him too. "See, now I'm decent for your kitchen."

"You're far from decent, honey."

"Wanna go back to bed and drink your tea? Thought I might put my new CD on and chill out before we do something that could be called productive."

"Productivity is for workdays, I'll be quite happy to spend the day lazing about, maybe take a little walk. Don't want to go near a store, need to save some money."

"For all your art supplies." Jim was so proud; she'd gotten on to both her courses and had been excited all week. "When do your classes start?" Jim grabbed his coffee and Pam's tea and led them back to the bed which hadn't gotten completely cold since they'd left.

"First week of September on Mondays and Wednesdays. You know they are still enrolling on some classes if you want to do one too, got the prospectus in my bedside table."

"What would you suggest? Something manly like woodwork? Or maybe French for our trips to Paris and... other French places, might have to get a guide. Or an atlas. I'm not too hot on European geography." Jim put his new Florence and the Machine CD into Pam's player and pressed play before quickly seeking the warmth of the covers and his Pam. The first song that played was one he'd had in his head all week; he couldn't believe Pam had bought it for him like she was a mind reader. "Maybe I could learn to salsa?"

"There's writing classes."

"Pam..." he warned gently.

"I don't get why you don't want to even talk about it. You looked so happy when you talked about writing and when you tell me about your favourite books, everything from 'Catcher in the Rye' to 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' You come _alive_. Can you at least think about trying something that might make you happy?"

He couldn't just shoot her idea down, he could at least look, it didn't mean it had to come to anything. "I can do that. Ok, gimme the prospectus."

"Seriously?" She didn't wait for an answer before fishing it out and presenting it to him. "There's a couple of bookmarks already there and I've highlighted ones I think you'd like."

"Been planning this?" He asked wryly.

"To be honest, I was worried you'd be mad if I brought it up."

"Sorry." He felt horribly sheepish. He didn't want Pam to worry about making him mad, especially over something as simple as evening classes. He wanted her to feel like she could discuss anything with him. Now he felt like an ass. "I'll have a look. I haven't really been in the habit of writing for a while but it's always ticking over, I just never start stuff let alone finish it."

"What are you scared of?"

"Zombies."

"Ugh!" She threw up her hands. "You might not want to give me a straight answer but you might want to consider whether you owe yourself one." There was no anger in her words, no exasperation neither. Just unashamed honesty. Jim felt the words hit him square in the chest and couldn't think of anything that would be a reasonable, non-dickish reply. Pam pulled an art catalogue from the same drawer she'd gotten the prospectus and kissed him on the temple. "Read."

"Yes ma'am."

With some trepidation he slid a finger down the first bookmark and opened the page. Pam had highlighted the first class in the section, Introduction to Creative Writing. The second class she'd highlighted was a mixed class, Literature and Creative Writing which Pam had drawn a question mark beside. The third one Pam had underlined three times, Fiction, Journalism and Opinion. Jim read the description and kinda liked the sound of that one, he'd done a few reviews and gig reports in high school and he enjoyed that side of writing but never really got a chance to explore it as much as he would have liked in college, sticking too firmly to literature. Mr Wilks, his high school teacher, said he should keep his degree broad but he'd been swayed by his parent's advice. He kinda wished he could get Mr Wilks advice now.

"Fiction, Journalism and Opinion looks kinda good. Creating a blog on Livejournal is part of the course; I've thought about putting stuff up anonymously before but backed out."

Pam closed her catalogue that she hadn't really been reading anyway and looked as excited as a puppy. "That was my favourite too!"

"I'm not promising anything but it's on a Wednesday night too which would mean we could, _technically_, go together."

"No pressure at all." She grinned.

"I'd believe you more if you weren't smiling like that, doesn't it hurt?"

"Nope, I'm naturally this smiley. I'm just happy you're even considering it. They do online enrolment, just so you know."

"Yeah, thanks." He jokingly rolled his eyes.

"You're welcome!" She grinned knowing she'd just won an epic battle without even breaking a sweat. It helped her cause that he was still pretty floaty from the night before and she was naked under the covers with him.

"Oh, not a word of this to my parents."

"Of course. Actually we should discuss this, anything else I should stay away from topic-wise with your mom and dad?"

"The job interview I turned down, mom will berate me for that one. Dad too."

"Didn't think you'd want that brought up, honey. Any sticky subjects or go to topics?"

"Well I'd stay away from religion and politics, can't go wrong with the weather or travel, they really love to travel since they semi-retired, you'd probably be interested in that too."

"Yeah, I'm hoping to do a lot of that in the future. Maybe take someone with me for the ride."

"I could think of someone. You could take but Dwight finds it hard to leave the farm this time of year."

Pam laughed. "So what else?"

"Well you already know a bit about my mom from the hospital and all the crazy stuff I've told you. She's sweeter than you think, but she's tough with it you know, takes her a little time to warm up. She was an army brat so she moved around a lot; she always had to get to know new people and then leave them again. I think that's why when they settled in Scranton to have kids they never moved again; they wanted stability for us and it was really good for us. She seemed really psyched for this though; she's already got three possible desserts."

"Which three?"

"Banoffee pie, a pavlova and summer fruit pudding."

"Oooh, I love all of those."

"Don't mention your fear of banana spiders though."

"Don't worry; I'll rein in my crazy if they'll rein in theirs." She teased. "How about your dad?"

"Well he used to be all about his job but I'd stay away from that if you want to keep your will to live, my love. Projects, ask about what he's got planned and what he'd do if he had a million dollars, stuff like that. I wouldn't worry, they are going to love you, you've already passed the first test in mom's book."

"I won't lie, I'm a little nervous, well, a lot nervous, but it's got to happen and I really want to get to know them."

"You are either madly in love with me or just mad."

"Little of both. Well, a lot in love."

"Mmm, I think I'm about fifty-fifty."

"Hey!" She protested before cuddling round him closer. "I like waking up with you here."

"Me too."

They lay in each other's arms drinking their morning reviving liquids while listening to Jim's new album. His mind, however, was firmly on that class and the little flutter of excitement in his  
chest when he thought about enrolling. He'd kept that urge under control for so long, it scared him to think about pursuing it again. The reason why he was scared was something he owed himself to explain, Pam was right, it wasn't something he was willing to think about just yet. When the next song started to play he let the music blank out his worries and thoughts like vibrant white noise. But still, the flutter remained.


	46. Chapter 46

**Friday update time and we're checking in with the fallout from Isobel and Mark's break up and a few other things too. Apologies for** **not replying to all my reviews, been a bit scattered of late, I resolve to do better. Should be hitti****ng 200 reviews soon, oh my goodness. **

**Enjoy as always.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Six: Sunday Evening**

"Hey, I'm home." Shouted Jim, kicking off his shoes into a pile by the door and ditching his jacket. "Wanna quick blast of PGR or Burnout?" Jim crashed on to the couch beside Mark. He looked like he hadn't slept much and he hadn't shaved since Friday morning. His beard grew fast but he could never put up with it for long because it curled into his skin and itched like hell. Jim wasn't going to encourage him to clean up before he was ready; Jim had skipped sleep and shaving plenty of times when things had hit the fan with Pam, hopefully he just needed time.

"Uh, yeah Burnout Revenge, I'll get it set up." Mark tried to revive his features by rubbing his hands over his face and scratching his stubble hard each to leave red scratch marks. "How was your night?"

"Food was good, should take you there one night, have a guys night or something and go see a movie afterwards." Jim didn't want to go on about his anniversary dinner or about Pam's invite to his parents just yet. His focus was on his friend and making him feel good or at least not worse.

"Sounds good, loved that Thai green curry Pam cooked for us." Mark set up the game, hooking up the Xbox and moving the Playstation2 out of the way. He'd been playing something to keep him up all night.

"How was your night?"

"It was ok, I guess. I tried not to be a complete downer." Mark had spent the evening next door at Nick and Sandra's so he didn't spend it alone. Mark had resisted but after he almost set alight to the kitchen when he spaced out while cooking he gave in to Jim's badgering.

"Still early man. Give yourself a break."

"I know." Mark handed Jim a controller and Jim just hoped that spending the rest of the night together might help the time pass. It was going to take some healing. "Nick gave me some good advice, set my head right on a few things, told me to get some perspective and that she had her own problems and I wasn't responsible for all the crap in the world. Apparently the world doesn't care that much about what I do... and that sounded much more comforting when he said it."

"I get what he was trying to say."

"I feel a bit better now, a little less... doomed to die alone."

"So you're not going to buy a cat or a bunch of rabbits?"

"Not yet anyway. They also had brie for dessert so that made me happy, good stuff too, I wanna get fat now." Mark set up the first race. "Five laps ok?"

"Yep, I forget how pretty this game is in HD. Shiny cars are shiny."

"You know you can talk about your date last night. I'm not going to take offense."

"I know." Taking _offense_ wasn't the problem. Poking him in the heart with a knobbly stick with a smiley face attached was. "It was just the usual." Jim needed a diversion and as much as he didn't want to bring it up, it was an easy choice. Man up, he told himself. "Pam's trying to encourage me to do an evening class."

"Really? What like?"

"A writing one?"

"Let me guess, you shot her down." He commented dryly. "First takedown! Ha!"

"Dammit." Jim wasn't concentrating and Mark managed to push him into a pillar of a bridge. "No, I'm going to consider it."

"Seriously? I know Pam's been renting space under your skin for a long time now but I'm shocked. I'm happy for you, but I didn't think she'd crack that wall so quickly."

"Why not? Anyway, it's not a wall, I'm a realist, I needed a proper job and I didn't want the debt of staying in school." Jim crashed into a literal wall and took himself out. "Dammit again."

"It wasn't just that though and you know it. Anyway, we've had this conversation too many times before. As someone who's read your stuff and actually knows you're talented I'm happy for you and I think you should go for it." Mark was moving on the couch like he was driving the corners for real. Jim still hadn't gotten his head in the game and slammed into the same bridge pillar as before. "What's up with you, man? You're sucking."

"I'm just getting into it. What about you, wanna do an evening class?"

"Nah, I'm happy with the boxing, cooking and the gym, when am I going fit in some decent gaming time if I learn to crochet?"

"Priorities."

"Indeed."

"Good place to meet women though."

"I'm off women for the moment and before you make a smart-ass comment that isn't as funny as you think it is, no, I'm not batting for the other team either."

"I wasn't going to say that." He was. It was too easy but he was.

"They do evening classes on teaching?"

"No." Jim spoke firmly.

"'No they don't' or 'no we're not discussing this'?"

"Both."

"Walls." He sighed sarcastically.

"It's not - Shit!"

"What is it with you trying to hump that bridge?"

"Guess my car has a crush. Literally."

"In three years the bridge might find out about it." Mark grinned, not bothering to take his eyes off the screen.

"Ass."

"You love me." Mark boosted himself into first place while Jim sat despondently in last. Mark was on fire, taking out the computer controlled cars; his half of the screen was a blur from all of  
the boost he'd earned. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." He didn't promise he'd answer.

"Did you like Isobel?"

The question caught Jim off guard; he was expecting something about writing or teaching again but Mark had wisely left that alone. "Yeah. Not so much now though." He'd be happy never to see her again but as she was still one of Pam's closest friends that wasn't going to happen.

"I mean before Friday."

Jim was confused. "What are you _actually_ asking?"

Mark sighed. "Did you see it coming? Was she the type to mess around?"

"No. I wouldn't have let you near her otherwise. Pam wouldn't either."

"_Let _me?"

"Yep. You know what I mean; I would have said something and hoped you see sense. Not like I'm going to shut you in the house or give you orders. You weren't a dupe, I couldn't believe it either." That seemed to be what Mark needed to hear.

"Cool. Let's talk about something else."

"Ok. My mom's invited Pam for dinner."

"Whoa! That's big. You said yes?"

"Yep. A week on Friday." Jim was careening towards the bridge again. "No, no, no..."

"Oh my god! How many times have you hit that same bit?"

"Every lap."

"You suck."

"I just need a new track. Pick something rural."

"That's fine with me; you can throw yourself into a canyon instead."

"As long as it's not a concrete pillar, I'm happy."

"So, how was your mom?"

"Upbeat."

"That's unnerving."

"Yeah. Waiting for the giant anvil to fall on me."

"Dude, it'll be a piano, a better class of destruction."

"Pam's agreed so it looks like it's happening. I think it'll be ok, I'm going to speak to my parents beforehand, make sure they behave."

"Good luck, you'll need it, if Pam doesn't dump your ass after that you might go the distance." That comment earned Mark a jab in the shoulder. "Lay off! You've not got your gloves on!" He  
rubbed his wounded arm.

"Well we're definitely sparring next session."

"Challenge accepted, puny weakling." He jabbed back. "So, you and your dad still getting on better?" They started another race, jostling for position in the opening stretch of the desert  
track.

"Yeah we are. It's actually really cool. He called the other night about some math problem; I think he's planning to build something when he gets his cast off. It's really good though, he always asks how Pam is too."

"I'm happy for you. Um, I kinda heard from my dad."

Jim paused the game instantly and lay down his controller; he was heading for a cliff edge anyway and this demanded his full attention. Mark rarely mentioned Robert Ellis, the man he begrudgingly knew as his father. They'd not talked about him since his no-show at Christmas. He'd left when Mark was twelve and his mom moved to Scranton during the summer. Jim met Mark that September in the halls of their high school just a few days after Mark's thirteenth birthday. "He call?"

"A letter, well, a card but he wrote stuff in there. I got it on Thursday but I recognised his handwriting so I didn't open it until last night. Needed to work up to it and Friday night was a bit of a bust so I opened it late last night."

"What did he say?"

"Sorry he didn't send anything at Christmas, he's left Texas and is now living in Las Vegas and apparently I have a half-brother called Luis."

"Fuck, another?" That would make four half-siblings in three different states. Mark puffed out a breath of resignation. He looked lost between shock and disappointment. The saddest part was how this situation was so familiar for him, history repeating itself over and over.

"Yeah, I didn't even know he'd left Gina and little Maddie. I sent them presents at Christmas and Gina didn't mention it when Madison called to say thank you, she's turning five next month." Mark had never met Gina or Madison but he tried to keep track of where his dad and his half siblings were located. He had another half brother and sister in Florida who would be in their early to mid teens. It wasn't a topic to bring up unless Mark mentioned it first.

"I'm sorry."

"He's an asshole; I just wish he would leave the kids out of it."

"Hell of a week."

"Yeah, god, another kid. Seriously, I thought he'd slow down now he's getting older, he can't keep starting over like this. Now he's shacked up with some Mexican chick, no offense to her but seriously, why? He's a forty-five year old gaping asshole."

"God man, I'm so sorry. What else did he say?"

"He hoped I'd found a nice girl." Mark snorted. "Yeah, timing was off with that little comment, for all he knows I'm married with a kid on the way. At least it took my mind off Isobel for a little while. Though she was good on the topic of fucked up fathers considering she has one herself."

"God man, what a head fuck."

"Yeah, you know the drill, I'll stew over it a couple of days and then things will get back to normal." He slumped back into the couch, scratching again at his chin. "Can't believe he's started another family. God, mom will find out eventually from Auntie Brenda, she loves to stick the knife in when she can. I'm gonna have to tell her before it gets back to her. It hurts her so much each time, like she didn't suffer enough the first time he has to keep doing it over and over." Brenda Ellis was one of those special people who relished in other people's drama and misery. She was far from Mark's favourite Aunt.

"I can be there if you'd like. Moral support."

"If you could just be around when I get home, that would be great, think I'll need to unwind after. Might go see her after work tomorrow, cook her dinner or something. You coming to help us on Wednesday clearing out her attic for the yard sale?"

"Of course, was hoping I could give her some stuff to sell on for me."

"She'll love to, she loves mothering you almost as much as me."

"You gonna be ok about all this? It's a lot to take in less than forty-eight hours."

"I always am. I have good people around me."

Just a shame about the bad ones. Jim kept that thought to himself and un-paused the game instead, that was the safer option.

...*...

Pam could hear music creeping out from under her sister's front door before she could see it. Luckily her neighbours never complained. As she knocked she recognised the band as The Ting Tings, Penny was mad about them at the moment.

"Eeeek! Pam! Come in my lovely!" Penny dragged her inside with a death hug around her neck. Pam spotted Isobel who smiled weakly. "You're late! Too much time with your amore I  
think!"

"Ok, you are seriously hyper. Hormones again?" She'd been blaming everything on sickness and hormones recently.

"Hush. I have news!" Penny grabbed Pam's arm and dragged her to sit next to Isobel on her couch. "Sit, sit, sit, sit."

"I'm sitting. What's going on?"

"Danny asked me to move in with him. He's found a house. A house!"

"That's wonderful, Pen." Said Isobel with a forced smile. It was obvious she hadn't told Penny her news but Pam could understand why she didn't want to steal another friend's thunder.

"I've been freaking out because Danny's been acting so weird lately, I thought he was gonna leave me because we're... well, stuff, but it was this!"

"I'm so, so happy for you, hun." Pam gave another Beesly-esque death hug. "You guys ok now then?"

"More than ok." She beamed.

"Good. So what's the place like?"

"Well, I thought I could drive you guys past it if you wanna come for a drive? We've gotta be quick 'cause it's getting dark."

"Ok, but I'm driving, you are so loopy you're about one cute kitten poster away from your head exploding." Pam fished her car keys out of her bag. "You up for it, Is?"

"Yup! I'm super excited!" Isobel tried to cheer but it ended up sounding sarcastic. She'd never have said the word 'super' if she won the lottery. She was trying too hard.

"Are you making fun of me?" Said Penny, looking hurt but equally ready to put her in her place.

"No! Of course not, I'm so happy for you Pen, you and Dan are the best, kindred spirits. Let's go see where you guys will be shacking up."

Pam drove while Penny sat in the front passenger seat and retold the day before in detail, interspersed with directions. Danny had driven her out to the house and surprised her with his offer to cohabitate. Pam wondered when Jim would ask, she certainly wasn't ready to give up her space yet but she didn't hate having him in it either. Still, she was a way off that milestone. Jim was happy living with Mark too.

"...And then we drove home and made a list of all the things we'd need but we were so excited we ended up doing it on the couch. First he-"

"The one we were just sat on?" Isobel interrupted from the back.

"I don't have a couch just for sex you know."

"Ok, ick, just please save us the blow-by-blow account."

Penny sniggered and settled back into her seat. "Here! Stop, stop, this is it! The yellow and white one."

Pam drew up outside.

"God Pen, it's pretty, Danny certainly knows you." Said Isobel as she leant forward between them, resting her hands on the centre console.

"It is gorgeous. I'm jealous." It really was lovely, Pam thought. Two storeys, pastel yellow shingle and white shuttered windows. It was a little run down and the garden needed tidying up  
but it was nothing they couldn't handle. It was much nicer than the place she and Roy used to rent. Big for two people.

"It's got a big garden out back too."

"Perfect for the kids." Pam quipped.

"What?" Penny's head snapped round to look at her sister, eyes wide with shock.

"You know, babies? When you're ready and all that." Pam soothed.

"Oh yeah, definitely! When we're ready!" She sang. "Let's get out; it's unoccupied so we can peek in the windows."

Penny was all over the place today, so erratic but it was probably the excitement and lack of sleep. She'd been tired and run down recently, it was just nice to see her full of her usual energy again. They all climbed out of the car and Pam took the opportunity to speak a few hushed words to Isobel as Penny had skipped towards the house.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, spent yesterday with my mom. She blames herself..." Isobel dropped her head and resisted the urge to cry. "Can we talk later, I don't want to ruin Pen's day."

"Sure." Pam gave her shoulder a quick, discreet squeeze.

"You still mad at me?"

Pam thought they'd gotten over Isobel's surreptitious phone call to Mark, especially as Mark decided to e d things between them. It didn't seem fair to yell after she'd had her heart broken, even if she had played the starring role in her own downfall. "No. We're good. Come on, let's go coo over the house."

They spent a good half hour peeking in the windows and discussing paint, wallpaper and furniture before they decided to head back. Pam could see the tears prickling at Isobel's eyes and she was biting her bottom lip to stop a tremble. She wouldn't last much longer surrounded by relationship bliss. Pam had wanted to tell them about being invited to Jim's parents but that  
might be the last straw.

"Oh, I got on to the two art classes I wanted." Pam began as they made their way back to Penny's apartment. It was a relatively safe topic even though Mark had hidden artistic talent.

Both girls congratulated her. "Did you have to be accepted?" Asked Isobel, clearly grateful for the non-relationship discussion.

"I had to send them some work because I wanted to go straight on to an intermediate level, not beginner. I had a few sketches and a watercolour lying around."

"That's great, you'll be amazing. Can't wait to see what you do."

"You thought about trying something, Is?"

"Oh, I can't afford it right now. Maybe next year."

"What about you, Penelope?"

"Need the money too at the moment, I'm moving. It's so cool Jim's supporting you, that was one of the first things that won us over when we officially met him. Not that I wasn't completely sold on his loveliness before then, knew you loved him just by the way you'd smile when you were talking about him."

"I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in."

"You guys will have to help me move. At least Issy won't fall for someone this time; she's got her man now."

Pam had to keep her attention on the road but she heard Isobel breakdown into sobs within seconds.

"Oh, Issy sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Mark dumped me." She sobbed.

"Oh no, I had no idea." Penny had turned round in her seat so she could touch the bereft brunette.

"I fucked up, badly."

"Oh god, what happened?"

"I don't deserve the sympathy."

"The Kiwi?" Pam couldn't hear the response but she assumed Isobel nodded. "You cheat on Mark?"

"No. I lied to him. Said I was working late when instead Jonah came to visit me."

"Stupid, stupid, stupid."

"I know. Mom's convinced me it's time to get some help; I came round today because Pam said you knew a good counsellor."

"Yeah, sure babes, I've got her details at home, she's really good."

"My mom was saying how it was her fault, how she let me see her get walked over by all these men traipsing in and out the house. She said it's because she made dad leave but I never  
blamed her, not even back then, we'd have been homeless if she hadn't cut him off. It was the horses or us. It's not her fault at all. It's me, I had a good thing and I couldn't help ruining it because... I don't know, I just wanted to prove this big point to myself and make sure Mark didn't find out. It was all about me."

"How'd he find out?"

"He saw me walk him to his car because it was raining so hard and he didn't have an umbrella. Loads of people were cutting down my street because of a shunt on the main road."

"You're doing the right thing now though, I'm sorry you lost Mark even though you were stupid."

"He deserved better. I miss him so much though; it's so hard not to call just to hear his voice. Think I'm one step away from turning into a crazy stalker."

"Maybe if you do some work on yourself things will get better, maybe he'll give you another chance. I mean, it was just one lie, right?"

"Yeah."

Pam cleared her throat.

"Oh, Mark saw him hug me and, Jonah... he kissed me." Pam caught Penny's expression out of the corner of her eye, it was a rare sight to see her so furious, like she could breathe fire and spit acid. "I didn't instigate it." She followed quickly. "I didn't push him off either but I didn't want the kiss, he just caught me off guard."

"Yeah right." Penny snarked.

"Mark was more upset about the lie."

"I should castrate that Kiwi." Penny huffed and sat back in her seat, refusing to look. Pam hated the tension.

"It's good you're gonna try the counselling route, it's really tough but worth it. I'm proud of you. _We're_ proud of you." Pam emphasised. Penny had to keep her eye on the positive, punishing Isobel even more wasn't going to help her stick with counselling.

Penny made a noise that could be considered agreement. Somewhere. It was enough for now.

"Thanks. I figure I can judge if it's doing anything until I've done several sessions."

"Did you know about this, Pam?"

"Yes." She didn't know why Penny sounded like she was accusing her of something but she wasn't in the wrong.

"Well I guess you would have heard through Jim, is Mark ok?"

"It's not really fair for me to talk about Mark right now."

"Yeah, I guess not." Penny shot Isobel a filthy look.

"Look Pen, I know I messed up but I'm trying to make things better. I don't know if it'll ever be enough for Mark to trust me again, we were only together a month and he'll probably find someone else soon enough but everyone makes mistakes, even Pam did."

"Yeah, but that was with hot Jim so that's different."

_Oh no, no, no._

"Jim! You kissed JIM!" Isobel cried. Pam winced at each time she said his name, she was still carrying on and Pam tried to butt in. "no wonder you wouldn't tell me! Jim! JIM!"

"It doesn't matter who it was-"

"Of course it does! I can't believe it was Jim, of all people!"

"It was still wrong." Pam had no idea how she'd fallen off the moral high ground. She didn't know she was on high ground to start off with; she just got dragged into this tornado.

"You were such a hard ass last Friday and you kissed Jim. Your now boyfriend." She finished bitterly.

"I wasn't a _huge_ hard ass; I was a good friend to you! It doesn't make any difference anyhow."

"It does! You _left_ Roy." She snarled.

"Roy and I mutually broke up. It had nothing to do with Jim, or at least not some stupid drunk two-second kiss from ages ago."

"I can't believe you're telling me that it didn't matter when it's been clear you've had feelings for him long before things imploded between you and Roy."

"I didn't. Listen, I'm not going to argue, it wasn't like you had a right to know who I kissed, I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to make some big romantic 'meant-for-each-other'  
tale out of you and that ass."

"But for you it was some big romantic tale, wasn't it?" Isobel's words dripped with sarcasm.

"You're twisting my words."

"Both of you stop!" Penny yelled. "This is ridiculous, they are two completely different situations and do you really think that now's the time to pick a fight? Especially you Issy, you're always fighting, always angry about something, you actually seemed calmer and happier when you were with Mark."

"I was." She said more calmly but still clipped. "He made a lot of sense about stuff, made me see things a new way. He was good like that, made me feel centred, less like I had to prove myself right to everyone but Pam's picking a fight too. Hypocrite."

"I'm not a hypocrite and I was being attacked. I won't just take it anymore; I know how to stand up for myself now."

"Well at least Jim trusts you." She snarled. "He knows what you did and still everything is perfect for you, you're lucky."

"I know I am." Pam had to concede that point. "I talked about it with him too, I don't know why but he does trust me."

"Count yourself lucky Pam because it could all vanish in an instant, you've slipped up once, who's to say you won't again?" Isobel spoke with spite.

"Issy, stop picking on her." Penny held out a finger in warning.

"Well you would defend your sister. I bet you didn't give her a hard time when you found out about her basically cheating on Roy."

"I did. I told her she was stupid, just like I told you. It wasn't cheating, a kiss isn't really."

"Didn't stop you turning on me just now."

"I-I..."

"The reason you gave Pam an easy ride was because you hated Roy, you thought the cracks were showing and it was just a matter of time 'til she ditched the fat jock and ran off with  
Jim."

"Do you want to walk home because you're talking yourself into it right now?" Penny snapped.

"I'm leaving as soon as we get back. I'll go back to my mom's."

"Fine, I'm sick of you picking fights."

"No." Pam said firmly. "Is, this is exactly what you do. You lash out when you're hurt. Come on, it doesn't have to be like this, not anymore. Pen, you need to be more understanding, Issy's trying to sort her head out, you've got to give her credit for that."

Penny fell silent and Isobel was crying again, bent over in two with her face in her palms. "I'm sorry, I am." Pam and Penny shared a look of pity between them at the sight of her giving into the sadness again. All of the fight in her vanished. "I just want things back the way they were with Mark. I hate this, I hate who I am."

* * *

**This chapter wasn't actually going to be part of the story, just something that was referred to but I felt there was enough there to warrant writing it. **


	47. Chapter 47

**Monday update. This is another of those chapters that wasn't going to exist but does now so... here.**

**Warning: Smut. For those not into that kinda thing the first half is all Jim and Pam talking so you're good until then. Please skip the second half if you're underage. **

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Seven: Tuesday Evening**

Pam had Jim laid flat on his stomach on her bed while she kneaded his tight, knotted back muscles. She'd heard about his sales meeting from hell as rumours had spread around the office like wild fire. She figured he could do with a treat. She'd greeted him at the door wearing her casual yoga pants and a vest top and led him straight to the bed room making sure he lost his shirt along the way. This wasn't about jumping his bones but helping him unwind after a rough day. The fact that an open letter from the clinic giving her the all clear was sat on her coffee table wasn't going to change the fact that Jim would be wound up and tense. She just hoped he'd gotten his letter too.

The smell of ylang-ylang and sandalwood filled her nostrils as she worked on the multitude on knots his back was riddled with. She had Corinne Bailey Rae playing before he'd arrived so she was softly crooning in the background.

"All I did was mention that we could offer free delivery if she ordered a three month supply and she burst into tears."

"You bastard."

"I know." Pam dug into one hard knot where his neck met his shoulder and tried to loosen it with her thumbs. "Nuugghh, that's good."

"What happened after that?"

"I tried to apologise and say it was ok but she... turned on me."

"Aww." Pam sounded more amused than sympathetic but now she'd seen to most of the knots she could ease him with firm strokes up and down the length of his long back. She enjoyed  
the chance to take in each detail, a mole here and there and something that looked like an old faded scar close to his hip. She wanted to see if she could sketch him from memory later, it was her secret indulgence, she hadn't asked Jim to pose for her. Yet. "Keep going."

"Mmm, what were we talking about?" Jim asked dreamily.

"Crazy business woman crying." Pam warmed a little more of the oil in her hands and smoothed her palms either side of his spine with enough pressure to make a little wave of muscled flesh until she reached his shoulders and down his arms. She was still feeling out what he liked and he was making various happy noises at her firmer touch. His muscles were starting to feel supple and relaxed.

"Oh yeah, I think you're massaging my ability to think away. Ok, she started yelling at me, saying how I was just like... mmm, nice... any other man with promises and a pretty smile and that I was just using her and that I'd leave her when a better client came along who could make a bigger order. She was raving mad."

"She said you had a pretty smile?" Pam felt a pang of jealousy even over a crazed woman.

"Yeah but seriously Pam, she was waving her arms all over the place ranting about scumbag men and their broken promises. I thought she was gonna hit me!"

"And ruin that pretty face of yours? Never."

"Apparently she was tempted, she called me a harlot!"

"Well you are a bit of a harlot."

"Right!" As quick as a flash Jim had flipped them over so he had her pinned beneath him, his legs folded either side of her hips.

"Such a harlot-y thing to do." She taunted, biting her own lip and hiding her laughing smile.

Jim didn't say another word before leaning down and kissing her, definitely not like a harlot and very much like her boyfriend. His lips searching and teasing, hers responding in kind as they  
tentatively played with his bottom lip and a gentle flutter of tongue and minty taste. Lazy and luscious. So much for this being about relaxation over sex, now she wanted more. "Can I do your back now?" He asked, with no motive other than to return the favour. She half hoped he had a decidedly more ulterior motive.

Pam stifled a whine of disappointment and agreed. "After my damn chair? Definitely. I tried to steal yours while you were gone but Dwight busted me and started having a hissy fit calling me a thief."

Jim helped her turn over and remove her top which involved a lot of groping. "Mmm, better lay down before I get other ideas." He groaned while begrudgingly ceasing the careful attention he was paying to her nipples, strumming them with his fingers.

"I like your other ideas."

"I know, but I really want to give you a proper massage so lie down and let me work my magic. First things first..." He carefully undid the clasp on her butterfly necklace; she'd worn it every day since he'd given it to her. "Don't want to get this all greasy." He placed it safely in an open trinket box on her bedside table. She felt naked without the weight and feel of the chain around her neck.

He settled so he was sat across the back of her thighs, resting on his heels so he didn't put too much weight on her. "So how was your day, my darling? Apart from the accusations of stealing and thievery." He reached for the massage oil and drizzled some of the fragrant viscous liquid straight down her spine.

"Ah, cold!" She shrieked and wriggled.

"That's for agreeing that I'm a harlot. So, tell me about your day, what did I miss while I was being abused and defamed?" He began his slippery massage because he'd used way too much oil that was running down her sides and on to the sheets. In a past life she would have cared, but not anymore, life was too short to fret about laundry and the oil was warming up nicely now. That combined with how well he spanned her back with his comparatively enormous hands felt far too good to worry about anything else.

"I don't know if I want to talk about work while you're doing that, feels too lovely. Especially as Dwight and Michael were brainstorming ways to save the branch and let us just say it wasn't exactly what you'd call productive. I still don't know how stock-piling Molotov cocktails would help. Then Packer stopped by..."

"Let's not talk about _that guy _in this bed, I'll take Psycho-Client any day over Todd 'I humped your mom' Packer. So work talk is off the table. What else would you like to talk about?"

Although she was tempted to bring up the topic of the evening class again she decided to hold off. Jim had kept suspiciously quiet if thoughtful over the past few days, hopefully mulling it over, he'd talk when he was ready. Instead, Pam chose something else which had been on her mind while endlessly photocopying forms. "Do you believe in destiny? Fate and all that jazz?"

"Interesting topic."

"I do try. So..."

"Um, I've thought about it and I don't know. It depends whether you think all our actions are predictable and predetermined, whether there's a higher power like a god or whether we have free will and control our own fates. I like to think it's the just the latter but sometimes...sometimes when I think about... us... I just think how unlikely it is that I would have found someone so... made for me." He words tailed off a little but Pam heart soared at his words. She gave his knee a squeeze from her prone position. "I could say you were perfect but you make such cheesy jokes sometimes, Bees. And you've got a weird cushion fetish."

"Only two flaws? I can live with that, I give up my cushions for no one."

"I don't know." Jim turned more serious again. "I want to think I have control over my life, that it's not already written. Everything seems random but maybe it's not. Some people never meet the right person even if they want to and that's if you even believe you are meant to be with someone for life. I was friends with a girl once, Cassie, who didn't believe in marriage because she thought that you had people who you were meant to be with for a limited amount of time, you grown and learn but then you part when things ran their course. She saw each relationship as a positive experience but that you couldn't be compatible with someone over a lifetime, you become too different. She thought that staying together for the sake of marriage or kids was forcing things that didn't fit anymore. That you ended up resenting each other for things not being right."

"That's a bit bleak though, like every relationship has a use by date."

"I think you can find someone for life, I mean my parents have been together for nearly forty years and they're happy even if they bicker a lot. I don't think Cassie had been around that many long term relationships. _Any_ long term relationships, actually." Jim, for all his musing, was also concentrated on her. He was working the muscle that stretched from the top of her shoulder to her neck with gentle, soothing pressure.

"My parents have been together thirty-five years; I think they're happy too. It's not all sunshine and rainbows all the time; you've got to tough out the rough stuff. They do their own thing most of the time but they share a bed each night. That counts for something." Pam didn't want her relationship with Jim to be like her parents but she respected how they wanted their marriage to be. She wanted to do stuff together, travel or just hang out. Most of her parents' hobbies were things they did alone.

"I think it's possible for two people to grow old together without them being together just for the sake of familiarity. I think marriage is important, not as a religious thing or a legal thing, but what it means to the people committing to each other, I think it's unique to each couple. We're kinda in the minority though, how many people do you know whose parents are still together or only married once?"

"Kelly... um... Penny's?"

"Exactly. It's hard. Maybe that's why I think it's so unlikely I found you without some cosmic hand involved. Either that or I'm just really lucky, I mean it's not like you were even single when I met you. Maybe it's less destiny and more stubbornness on my part. I made my own destiny through my inability to give up on you. Are you warm enough?"

"Mmm, yes. Feels _really_ good."

"What about you? Do you believe in destiny?"

"Yeah," she began, ready to share the theory she'd been working on, "I believe in destiny but I also think that you can change it, like switching rails on train tracks. What are those thingies called?"

"Points?"

"Yeah, those. You stay on your rails until you decide to switch but it won't change for you without you doing something, that's what you have control over."

"So destiny leads you somewhere until you make a key decision or action?"

"Yeah, not like buying mushrooms over tomatoes but big stuff. I haven't gotten it completely thought out but I think that I've that this year I noticed I've got more control than I realise but less at the same time."

"That makes no sense."

"Ok, well here's an example. I chose to work at Dunder Mifflin for the world's most insane boss because I thought that it would keep me and Roy close and that I'd be happy working near him." Pam really wished she could see him now but his hands were still moving in a steady pattern up and down her back and arms suggesting he didn't mind her bringing up Roy. "But now I think that maybe that set of tracks led me to you. The thing was, until I decided to switch rails and _choose_ you, it couldn't go any further, I'd be on the old set of rails with Roy. So I was out of control with where the rails were going but I still had the power to change them if I was brave or smart enough."

"I've never thought like that before. So your big decision was leaving me the CD?"

"Yeah but more than that too, it was me actually committing to making something more of us. To realising I _wanted_ more for us." Pam thought now it was less about the action and more about the decision. That was the key moment, acknowledging that she'd fallen for the man who'd sat just a few feet away for years while she was engaged to another man.

"So where are your rails headed now?"

"You. Me. Together. Guess I'm waiting for while before doing anything else big because changing rails was a whole lot of change at once. I chose to change though." She reassured. "Well, in some way it had to happen, Roy and I had definitely come to the end of the line, sorry for being lame with the metaphor but we had." Roy was the one who started the break up, even if she'd gone along with it willingly.

"I won't comment." Jim continued his steady, looping massage which her aching lumbar region was appreciating all too much. All of the tightness was dissipating and turning buttery.

She wanted to make one point clear though.

"I didn't _have_ to choose you, it's not a one or the other type thing, I had a whole bunch of rails to choose from, good and bad. Hell, I still have them available; I could pack my bag and leave for Paris in a heartbeat. Maybe Venice."

"Not going anywhere without me." He leant over and placed a sweet kiss on the crown of her head.

"Nice to know." That thought made her belly fizz; he really would follow her around the world and Venice wouldn't be a bad place to end up. "I just don't want you to think you were my next best prospect. That I switched just 'cause you were there."

"Believe me; I know it wasn't like that. Otherwise you would have let me take you to dinner the night we met in our park, our spot."

"Do you really think we're perfect for each other?"

"Well, I can't imagine anyone being more well suited for me, I don't know how it feels for you, I know I probably irritate the crap out of you sometimes, I keep stuff inside sometimes and I know you don't like that."

"Doesn't make you any less perfect for me. Flaws can be perfect too."

"I think a flaw is the antonym for perfect."

"The wha'?"

"Oh, the opposite." He corrected shyly as he turned his attention to stroking her arms as well as her back, she felt boneless.

"You hide how smart you are, don't you? I mean I see your smarts, but I don't see the knowledge you've crammed into that brain of yours."

"It was one word, Pam."

"Ok, what's the curly thing that means 'and' called?"

"An ampersand." He muttered, practically against his will.

"Knew you'd know that. What about a reflexive verb?"

"Would you know I was right if I told you?"

"No, but you're sexy when you show off."

"I do show off to you a lot, mostly by tormenting Dwight."

"Should put your skills to better use." She wanted to say that working for Dunder Mifflin is such a waste say but she knew Jim wouldn't respond well to pressure and they were having a  
nice evening so far.

"Tormenting Dwight is the best use the world has ever created. And what about my massage skills?"

"Very, very good." She hummed with pleasure. She loved it when he rubbed smoothly down her arms, even to the point where he'd let his fingertips curl into her open palms. She wondered if he noticed that her breath caught each time he did that.

"I think my hands are too big for you." He placed his hands so the covered the small of her back and her sides. "You're so tiny. Petite. I like that."

Pam was starting to feel a little less like relaxing again as she wriggled beneath him, her hips wanting to move of their own accord and her heart was beating a little faster. Uncomfortably so. She had to do something, she couldn't lie still anymore. "I want to turn over."

"You ok with oil on the sheets?"

"Yeah, it'll wash out." I hope, she added to herself but she didn't want to have practicalities on her mine right now, just the warm feeling spreading through her whole body.

Her boyfriend slash masseuse knelt up so she could turn over, helping her with hot, slick hands. Jim, still with his work shirt off, was gaping at her; even his jaw had dropped a little meaning his lips parted slightly in that way Pam loved. His arousal was evident too, obscenely tenting his work pants.

"Uh, sorry, I'm staring." Jim was blushing and snapped his gaze from her chest to her eyes.

"It's like you've never seen them before, Halpert." She popped the '-pert' of his surname with full lips. Pam loved to mock, gently, but it amused her that he always looked so astonished.  
Pam had never really had to worry about going without, the longest she gone without sex was the couple of months between Roy and Jim. Or maybe it was _her_ he was astonished to see.

"They are pretty darn impressive." He cocked a half grin, still embarrassed he was caught staring so brazenly.

"I know." She teased. She was pretty sure they were one, if not the main, reason Roy asked her out in high school. It certainly wasn't her arty mystique that caught the eye of the teenage high school quarterback.

"Um, weird question, is this oil stuff edible?"

"It's non-toxic, doesn't necessarily mean it's ok, just won't kill you."

"I can live with that." Jim picked up her hand and brought it to his mouth. With a mischievous look in his eye he took her index finger into his mouth, wrapped his lips around it and licked.

"Oh, Jesus!" He spluttered and coughed. "Bad idea, really bad idea. Ughk."

Pam was in a fit of giggles almost to the point of crying at his still scrunched up face and failing attempts to wipe the taste off his tongue with the back of his hand.

"Bleugh, oh god, that's nasty." He spluttered. "Glad you find it amusing, Beesly."

She still couldn't get a sentence out for laughing and was helpless was Jim started to tickle her in revenge. "I'll give you something to laugh about!"

"Oh, your face is enough!" He tickled faster still. "Stop! Stop! I give in!" Jim stopped his torture and claimed a victory kiss. "Not fair, you had me pinned." She pouted.

Jim kissed her again, this time letting his tongue touch hers. "Ewww!" She pushed him back much to his own amusement and laughter. "Oh, I can still taste it!"

"It's fading. More kissing should help." He said quickly.

Pam quickly linked her wrists behind Jim's head and pulled him down toward her with little effort. Their lips met again, slow and deep, reminding Pam of the intense kiss they'd shared in his driveway before they were officially a couple. The sharp, chemical taste was fading fast, especially the more she moved against his tongue. It was like they had moved their massage up a level, this time giving mutual caresses and strokes.

She unconsciously weaved her oily fingers into his hair, realising too late she was making him greasy. He didn't seem to mind though; he kept himself up by leaning on one elbow by her head to keep him from falling on top of her with his hand tenderly cradling her neck.

The kiss ended briefly for air, both of them a little breathless but not wanting to part. They still shared sweet, small kisses, Pam finding a mix of rough stubble and soft swollen lips to savour. Their eyes were only half open but locked on each other, a little drunkenly though they were both sober. She could feel his breath on her wet lips, tingling with cold as he breathed in and hot when he breathed out. It was dizzying and they'd only been kissing.

Jim slowly moved his still oil slick hand from behind her neck gently sliding over her shoulder and collar bone, down her chest until her found and caressed her breast. She hummed happily at the touch; it felt different with the massage oil making his movements more fluid and frictionless. He smoothed the fragrant liquid around the softest part of her pink nipples, smiling when she couldn't hold back a breathy moan and rewarding her with more of his touch, letting them tighten and darken. A mix of hot hands and cool air heightened the feeling, sending little sparks to the heat building between her legs.

He grabbed the oil and drizzled more across her stomach and in her belly button where her piercing sat.

"Ah, cold!" She hissed. She didn't want to break the mood but she was caught off guard.

"Sorry, I'll warm it up quick, promise." He kissed her swiftly before sitting back a little using both hands to move the oil, mostly upwards across her breasts. It felt even better with more oil, the heady scent filling the room even more than before. She bit her lips and arched her back slightly in time with his movements each time his palms swept slowly over and around her breasts, sometimes firm, sometimes with just feathery fingertips that fell just a little short of ticklish. She didn't know what was coming next and she flexed her hips beneath him, feeling herself responding, so warm and wet.

Jim's green eyes were focused on her with open desire; he licked his lips and bent over for another lingering kiss, hungrier than before and she kissed just as hungrily back. He sucked greedily at her bottom lip before smothering her mouth again; giving her little choice but she wanted it all the same.

Pam was happy stroking down his already oiled and beautifully curved back, keeping it warm while they kissed. She slipped her hands around his waist to his flat stomach, delighting again in the downy hair that was clinging to her slippery fingers, making swirls and patterns. She felt him suck in a sharp breath when she dragged her fingers upwards, his skin so sensitive to her touch. He rumbled some words into her mouth but they wouldn't stop kissing long enough to hear them. She guessed they were happy words and repeated the action again, each time stopping somewhere different, circling his almost too sensitive nipples or that ticklish spot over his ribs just below his armpits. She had him squirming above her while she writhed beneath.

Soon his touches were straying to the hem of her yoga pants and she lifted her hips in answer to his silent question. With the cotton bottoms gone to some unseen corner of the room she was left in just a pair of pale blue boy shorts, more comfortable than sexy but she liked the way they looked on her rounded hips.

Wanting to keep things even Pam reached for Jim's belt but she couldn't get the purchase she needed with slippery hands. "Should have made you take these off before." She joked, hoping she wasn't embarrassing herself. Working her fingers was hard enough in this state, almost unable to focus her eyes.

"Here." Jim managed after a little struggle to undo his belt and eventually the button and fly too. "Should come with a warning on the bottle. Do not attempt belt or flies while oiled up."

"I'll write and make the suggestion; maybe they'll send me a free bottle."

Jim rolled off her so he could free himself of what were now considerably oil-stained trousers and continued their kisses, this time pressing their bodies close together so that they slid against one another. This was completely new to Pam and she hoped it was new to Jim too from the sounds he was making with her. She loved the feeling of his chest hair against her skin, rough without chafing; reminding her that she was with Jim, her Jim. They entwined legs so they didn't end up slipping out of each other's grasp like a bar of soap and took each other's mouths again.

With oil everywhere their kisses were restricted from straying. The long, intense mouth only kissing was driving Pam crazy, the heat and puffy ache between her legs building even more. It was like a few weeks ago, before they took that final intimate step. She'd loved that were almost forced just to kiss, taste, and explore each other's mouths, that intimate connection that always blanked out any outside though, leaving her only in the present.

Jim stroked his free hand down the tops of her thighs, spreading the oil further still, sliding his hand up under her shorts to cup her behind, squeezing and massaging her. Pam kissed him harder, pulling him closer. Their rhythm and desperate tempo forced Pam to reach for Jim's boxers, needing that last vestige of skin. Message received without breaking contact between their lips Jim and Pam's underwear was soon forgotten and cast away.

Jim let out a muffled groan when his erection came in contact with Pam's hot, oiled thigh and he couldn't help but move against her, pressing and sliding himself gently. "Oh my god, feels good, really good." He sighed, his mouth hovering just above hers as he tried to catch his breath. "God."

Pam slid a hand between them, knowing it was covered in oil and touched him, holding him tight and moving in long, slow strokes.

"Fnuugh."

Pam took that as a good noise and grinned, almost laughing at her ability to make him lose his ability to speak. She continued, stroking from root to tip, paying special attention to letting the ridges of the inside of her grip bobble and caress the head and the most sensitive parts of him. She rolled her cupped hand over the head, letting him lose himself in the new feeling, the hot, slick sensation before sweeping back down again. She was breathing quiet and shallow so she could hear every noise he made, especially when she stroked him with her thumb too, teasing the tip and the moisture collecting there, mixing it with the oil.

"Oh, s-stop, stop." He jerked away from her, releasing her grip.

"Are you ok?" Oh god, did she hurt him? Catch him with a nail? Oh, god, I'm useless, she said to herself.

"Yeah, more than ok, just um, want to do a bit more than just that." He smiled crookedly, his cheeks already full of blush. Pam relaxed fully again, she had gotten carried away watching and listening to him. Of course she wanted to do more too. "It is ok for me to touch you with this stuff?"

"Yeah, I'll let you know if not."

He moved so he was between her legs rather than astride them. Pam felt the cool air hit her centre, making her lose her breath for a brief second. Jim always had a serious, thoughtful expression when it came to moments like this, nothing could shake his focus. His eyebrows lowered over his concentrated eyes. He had something planned and Pam could only lay and wait while he turned ideas over in his head.

It felt like hours had passed but it had only been a few seconds. He started by swirling his hand over her stomach again, gathering extra oil and then running it up her thigh, smoothing oil where her thighs met her centre and her bottom, tracing each line with his fingers. He picked up the glass jar of oil and licked his lips before tipping it over her red-tinted curls.

"Oh! My... god."

Pam bit her lip hard and arched as the cold hit her and trickled down over the hottest part of her, she could feel the rivulet of oil snaking its way between her legs and over her folds. Jim smiled lustfully at her reaction, she was half tempted to curse him out but it had felt like nothing on earth, she was so on edge and he hadn't touched her there yet. "God, Jim, save some for next time."

He ran he fingers over her curls, slicking them down and making her shine. "I'll buy more, _believe me_, I'll buy more." He stroked himself too, slow and easy, dropping his chin to his chest for a brief second. Pam watched wide-eyed at the sight she'd never seen before. Her heart was trying to pound its way out of her chest, it almost hurt.

He turned his attention back to her, seemingly having taken the edge off his own need. Soon, two on his fingers were teasing her lightly, Pam flexing her hips for more contact. He moved so he was laid beside her and kissed her again as he more boldly explored, sliding his fingers along her from top to bottom so much more slickly due to the oil and her natural self. Her noises of pleasure were being swallowed by the naked man beside her, his leg slung over hers to keep her close and warm. She couldn't get enough, she couldn't stop writhing and needing so much more and more.

He swirled his two fingers, running that sensitive pearl between them before stroking circles and figure of eights. Pam was making sounds half caught between pleasure and what sounded like pain but she was a million miles away now. He dipped a finger inside her and she grabbed at his arm, squeezing his bicep and encouraging more.

She thought she heard him speak but she didn't register anything. When his touch left her she blinked the fuzz from her eyes. "Jim?"

"Condom." He was trying to open the top drawer.

"Oh, I uh, got my letter, you get yours?" She could barely speak but she hoped they could just carry on, no stopping.

"I did, I'm clean."

"Me too." She smiled what she thought would be quite a dopey grin right now. They were finally free of the things and she would be his first.

"So we can..."

"Yeah." She said dazedly, dragging him back for a kiss. He moved himself between her legs. "I'm ready." She didn't want to wait anymore; she needed him inside her more than ever, to  
feel him completely.

"Oh, ok." He took a deep breath and locked eyes with her. Slowly he pushed... "Whoa..." His eyes scrunched shut and he stopped.

"Good, yeah?" No plastic-y smoothness or chill, she could feel the ridge of the head fitting like a puzzle piece inside her.

"Different, holy..." He opened his eyes briefly, almost black with only a halo of moss green before squeezing his eyes shut again and biting both of his lips into a thin line before pressing  
further still. The oil made things extra slide-y and it felt so very good, if anything it was too slidey and she wanted to feel more. She couldn't help a smile, watching Jim experience this for the first time, skin on skin. He stilled for a moment, letting his eyes open. "You feel fantastic. Jesus."

She pulled his body closer, encouraging him on until he was completely inside. The thrill was sending flutters right through her. His started to move, making her moan loudly but stopped  
quickly.

"Uh... ok, um, don't move for a second." He had his head next to hers, his forehead resting on the mattress.

"Close?" She guessed.

"Uh-huh." He managed to struggle out.

He was mumbling something under his breath. She recognised some words. "Are you reciting our paper stocks?"

"Yeah, and it's for your benefit by the way." He managed to say quickly. "Twelve point card stock..." He mumbled.

Pam giggled which made her whole body shake. Someone once said to her that you found true love if you found yourself laughing together while making love. She wasn't sure Jim was appreciating it though.

His head snapped upward. "Not helping!"

"Sorry, sorry." But she couldn't help it; she was high on love and laughter.

"Seriously, oh... god. You're making this hard."

That made Pam giggle even more.

"Pam! Please!"

"Ok, ok, I'm being good." She consciously stilled herself; she didn't want this to be over yet. "You know we have a special on card stock."

"Jesus, everything's sexy when you say it." He half laughed, having regained some of his composure.

Jim took a deep breath and kissed her again before slowing moving inside her again. "I'm good now." He chuckled before his brow furrowed again, another wave of lovely sensations  
hitting him again. "Oh, very good."

"Mmm, very." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing him, letting their foreheads rest together as the pace picked up slowly. Both of their torsos glistened and the scent of ylang-ylang became stronger still as their skin got warmer and warmer from exertion and racing hearts. It was almost over powering. "Oh, oh..." Her fingertips pressed hard into the flesh on his back coated in a mix of oil and sweat. She was right back where she was before their little break. She slid her oily legs against his dry ones, feeling his rough leg hair on her silky skin.

They were both clinging on to the sheets to stop from sliding off each other, keeping purchase and the steady rhythm that was forcing squeaks and oh's and uh's of satisfaction and delight. She could feel so much more of him, that beautiful ridge that was making her pulse inside and curl her toes. He moved with such powerful grace, she was lost in him.

"Yeah, good, oh god, I love you..." He huffed between ragged breaths, getting close already but she was right there with him.

"Love you, oh, more, please."

He thrust shorter and quicker, arching his back up a little so he could touch the spot that would push her over the edge with him. She was already letting go before he touched her and soon he was shuddering and burying his head next to her, not quite smothering the grit-teeth growl of his orgasm. "Oh, Jim, god..." Pam closed her eyes and rode out the waves and the feeling of Jim, unsheathed and closer to her than ever as she tensed around him. Another wave hit her as strong as the first making her curse and grab Jim again. "Oh shit, good." She cried out as she bucked against his heavy body.

Then nothing but calm and rough breathing.

"Wow." Jim sighed, almost a dead weight on top of her. His whole body quivered again. "Whoa, I'm shaking."

"Y'ok?" Pam hadn't gotten the ability to talk properly yet and just hugged her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, god, that was... intense."

"Can you move... need air."

"Oh shit, sorry." Jim rolled over and Pam winced a little with the haste. "Shit sorry, sorry."

"I'm ok, think you just gave me a little bikini wax. You sleepy?"

"No, not yet." He put his arm under her so she was laid with her head on his shoulder. "Seriously, that was... holy, I know I built it up in my head a bit, the whole feeling you properly for  
the first time thing which got me really worked up. That and the oily hand thing you were doing." He was talking a mile a minute, energised and excited.

"Md'you recite paper." She still couldn't speak properly.

"It worked, what can I say?"

"'Least y'didn't mention Dwight or Michael."

"That would have ruined it in a completely different way." He sardonically replied. "God, I'm still shaking, never had this before." He lifted up his hands that were jittering slightly.

"It felt good though, didn't it?"

"Intense. So much... more. More everything. I don't even know how to describe it, my brain is dead."

"Not too shabby for your first time bareback."

"Apart from when I almost completely embarrassed myself."

"I'd have let you have a second try."

"How gracious, still would have been," he stopped talking to yawn, "mortifying."

"Sex nap time." She hugged tighter round him, making herself comfortable in her post-bliss state.

"Don't wanna. Want to talk to you, tell you how awesome that was. Safe sex is great and all that; prefer the condoms over herpes or unplanned babies but that... that was... beautiful."

"Beautiful?"

"Beautiful."

* * *

**I wanted another crack at the smut thing and I think I'm getting a feel for Jim and Pam now. They're getting better too, no clashing, co****ncussions**** or over excited injuries this time! **

**Thought I'd have a little more of a dicussion of Jim and Pam's thoughts on marriage, committment and destiny considering the parental meetings are looming. ****We'll be meeting Jim's parents in the next two chapters so I'll see you Friday. **

**One more thing. Thank you, wholeheartedly, anyone who has taken the time to review. I don't write for the reviews but gosh to they give me a happy buzz and spur me on. Extra special thanks to Javajunkee, ForgetmenotJimmy, Taiorawarrior, StarStrewn and Pyrofanity my regular and faithful reviewers who've kept me and this story going for months now. This would be a poorer story without you all.**** Also to the lovely MrsJanScott for the kind words. From the bottoms of my heart and tapping fingers, thank you for helping me hit 200.**

**See you Friday.  
**


	48. Chapter 48

**Friday update time. **

**No warnings just read, been dying to show you all this chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Eight: Friday Evening**

Jim felt sick to his stomach when he heard Pam knock at the door. He was all dressed and ready to go to his parents for dinner but that wasn't the reason for his nausea. He didn't know what kind of mood Pam was going to be in but he was pretty sure she wasn't happy with him. It had all happened so fast.

He paced a couple more times but couldn't put it off any longer. He opened the door and let her in.

"Hey." He half said.

"Hey." She half replied.

Mark strolled out of the kitchen in a perky mood unaware of the events of the day. He'd been asked out on a date by one of the women at the boxing club and it had boosted his confidence no end. He'd taken her number but hadn't called yet, he wasn't sure if he was ready to date again even though Jim had been encouraging him to at least go for a drink with her. Pam had kept this from the still miserable Isobel without Jim having to ask which they'd both appreciated. It was hard being caught between two friends but Pam had been supportive of Mark. "Hey Pam, ooh, you look dressed for parental approval."

"Thanks. My palms are sweating so much though; they are going to be totally grossed out if they shake my hand."

"Wait here, got something to help with that." Mark dashed up the stairs two at a time leaving Jim and Pam in silence again. Jim felt guilty for ignoring her calls as well as all the others but he didn't know what to say. He needed a little time to collect his thoughts and he'd hoped Pam understood.

Mark bounded back with some sort of clear stone in his hand and a damp wash cloth. "Gimme your hands." He wiped the rock and Pam's hands with the cloth and then rubbed the rock over her palms and fingers. "It's a natural alternative to antiperspirant. Most of these are usually anti-deodorant but this one keeps sweat to a minimum too without your hand feeling weird and dusty. I use them at work if I've got a big client or something. I get sweaty palms too."

"Thanks Mark, that's so sweet of you. Holy crap I'm nervous."

"I've known the Halpert's for years, they'll adore you. Jim's prepped you, right?"

"Yeah."

"Just be yourself and you'll be fine, they can smell a phoney a mile away."

"Wanna come too?" Pam giggled nervously. He should be the one cheering her up but instead he just watched them chat away worrying that Pam was going to change her mind about going. She was here, that was a good sign, but he hadn't answered her calls either.

"As funny it'll be to watch Jim squirm when the baby pictures come out, I've got a date with Heather in Silent Hill."

"Sounds like fun. Never played that series. Didn't have many games with an actual plot."

"Jim has failed you, my friend. I'll have to start you off with Silent Hill Two as Silent Hill One will be a little too rudimentary to start off with but you need to play that before you can play Silent Hill Three, my personal favourite. Don't bother with number four, utter shite-fest that could have been so much more, Origins is worth a go and Homecoming is flawed but worthwhile if you're a dedicated fan such as myself-."

"Mark, we gotta go, you can finish your geekathon later." Jim said curtly and then felt the stab of guilt when he saw Mark's hurt face. He could make you feel like you'd kicked a puppy in the face with just one simple look. He should be immune by now but if anything it was more effective than ever. The last thing Mark needed was his best friend being a douche. "We'll be back tonight."

"Yeah, ok, good luck!" His words were aimed more at Pam than Jim.

They drove in silence for the first few minutes before Pam broke.

"Are we going to talk about this or what?"

Jim sighed and gave in. They couldn't go on like this. He hated the tension between them. "Yeah, ok. I guess we should."

"So?"

"So... well, you kinda saw what happened."

"Jim, you quit your job."

I was the first time he'd heard it out loud since he did it. He'd quit Dunder Mifflin.

"Probably not something you should bring up tonight."

"I figured." She said sarcastically, infuriated with his inability to talk properly about what he had done. "Why? What happened? It was so sudden."

"I just couldn't take it anymore." He said honestly. "I can take Michael and his insanity, I can handle Dwight and have my fun but, god, that meeting was just..."

"Just what?"

"I just couldn't be a paper salesman for any longer; it was like I couldn't bear to waste another second of my life doing something that was sucking the life out of me. I-I snapped. Hearing Toby drone on about company policy on appropriate email and internet use was too much, I couldn't take it anymore and I knew if I didn't do something right there and then I might as well just wait to have a heart attack in the same seat I sit in everyday. So... I quit."

"Ok." She said simply, taking a second to absorb what he'd said. "I get it, I really do. I didn't see it coming, maybe I should have, but I get it."

"I've been thinking about the future more the last couple of weeks, since you made me look at that prospectus. I haven't really wanted to talk about it, probably why I did what I did. I bottled it up."

"So, what now?"

He'd made up his mind. "I wanna teach."

"Seriously?" Her surprise what evident in how high her voice almost squeaked.

"Yeah, I want to be an English teacher." It felt so good to say it.

"Awesome." She leant across the divide and gave him a kiss on the cheek as he drove and his nausea vanished. "So, what have you got to do to become an inspirational teacher?"

"I have to complete the Pennsylvania Teacher Certification Program. Been researching it since I got home, I've applied online at a couple of places that do satellite courses attached to different colleges so I don't have to move or anything, at least I hope not. I'm not sure how long it'll take and what I'll do for money but I really want to do this. I don't know what I've been waiting for but I want to try."

"I'm so happy for you, honey. I'll support you all the way. This is so exciting! I'm so proud of you."

"You have no idea how much hearing you say that means to me."

"Well I am. Won't your parents be happy? Teaching's a worthwhile career choice."

"They've got nothing against teachers; they just don't see it as a career choice for their kids. It more philanthropy than a career. You can't provide an adequate lifestyle on a teaching salary. That's what a good man does, he's the breadwinner. Good jobs were in business, somewhere with a career ladder, management and bonuses. They never spoiled us, if they ever said 'no, we're not buying you that' it wasn't because they couldn't afford it, it was because they were teaching us, raising us right. Me becoming a teacher would mean they'd see me as the child who they'd need to keep supporting because I couldn't provide. Not that I'd take their money."

"A teaching salary isn't that bad, it's improved a lot in the last few years, that's why people complain about the teachers union."

"I probably never really make good money, not like I could have at corporate. Are you gonna be ok with that? I mean, I'm factoring you into this decision. Except for the bit where I quit but honestly, _I_ only knew about that half a minute before I actually did it."

"I don't care about money, we'll get by. I just want us both to be happy. I can give up the private swimming pool and fancy cars. You only get one life."

"Yeah, that's what scared me."

"You know, Oscar thinks you're awesome by the way, he's already emailed your quitting story to his friends."

Jim chuckled under his breath. "I could have been more flamboyant."

"I liked the simplicity. No one could quite believe it was happening. Including me."

Jim smiled wryly and thought back to a few hours earlier in that conference room.

_It was bak__ing hot outside but the room felt dark, grey and cold. How ma__ny hours of his life had he wasted in this room? Dozens? Hundreds? Sure, some days it was mildly diverting, even amusing  
and he'd had stolen moments with Pam which had sustained his love for her, but today... today was different.__ He'd bee__n thinking. Thinking about options._

"_...inappropriate use of email may lead to disciplinary action, letters on your file and may affect your advancement in the company. We've blocked online email providers such as Hotmail and Yahoo..." Toby mo__notonously __droned on and on._

_Jim looked around the room. The same glazed over faces he saw everyday had tuned out, probably after Toby's first few syllables. The only people who hadn't checked out were Michael who was staring daggers at Toby and Dwight who was listening attentively. Even Angela, miss goody-two-shoes, was absent-mindedly playing with the sleeve of her grey cardigan. Same people. Same faces. Same job. Nothing was going to change. This was his life. His own Orwellian dystopia. Paper. Human resource policy. Downsizing. Cold calls. Targets. Management._

"_...over the __next few months internet usage monitoring software will be installed and monthly reports included in your personnel files..."_

_No._

_He could change this. This didn't have to be his life. He could stop this now__. A__n evening class wouldn't be enough.__It was__n't too late._

"_...time wasting sites such as Youtube, Addicting Games and Facebook are also blocked..."_

_Jim stood a__nd Toby stopped talking__. Everyone's eyes were on him. It stops __now.__ "Yeah, I quit."_

"_Jim, you can still use these sites at home on your own time."_

"_It's not that. I just don't want to... be here or do this anymore. Yeah, I quit." Jim smiled like the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders." Bye everyo__ne."__ He walked out with ease. Even Michael  
was too stunned to stop him. _

_He grabbed an empty box but he only had a few items of any importance to take. He'd spent years here and it would only take a few minutes to leave. Some picture frames and mementos of fun and games with Pam. That and some stolen stationary, it wouldn't be right not to leave with pens, post-its and a stapler. He had the broadest smile on his face as he placed each item in the box._

"_Jim?" It was Pam. _

"_I'll see you later, honey." He had time to write o__ne post-it note and stuck it to the front of Dwight's computer before he was ready to leave._

"_Wait, you can't just walk out."_

"_I quit."He spoke like it was obvious reasoning and Pam should surely understand. Everything felt crystal clear._

"_I saw. We should talk about this."_

"_See you at mine, ok?"_

"_Jim!"_

_Without another word he grabbed his jacket and left. Walking thought the parking lot with the sun beating down on his skin he felt free._

It wasn't until he got home at three in the afternoon that he realised what he'd done. He was unemployed. He'd actually quit and just walked out. He didn't regret it, but he'd put himself in quite a position. The timing was far from perfect.

Jim almost missed the turning to his parents he was so deep in thought.

"Thought you might want to tell Michael off or stick it to Dwight."

"The weird thing is, they actually made it worth staying, they livened up the days. It was Stanley, Phyllis and Toby; I don't want to be like them. I just had to stop being a paper salesman, I couldn't make one more call, I just don't have another spiel left in me."

"I understand, I totally get it. I'm going to miss you so much though; days are going to seem so much longer without you. I'm going to miss sitting on the roof sharing your iPod over lunch." It had become one of their things they did. One ear bud each and they'd alternate who got to choose. Pam loved to just put it on shuffle and hope something embarrassing came up. It usually did. Their time on the roof was over now.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you behind."

"It's ok, I want you to be happy and we've got after work to spend time together."

"I quit my job."

"Yep. You did." Pam was smiling and not freaking out which wasn't what he was expecting.

He was stuck in a weird place between sheer exhilaration and panic. "I've completely messed up, haven't I? I mean, I can't be sure I'll get on a course that's within driving distance, I'll have to work still, I might be commuting for hours even if I don't have to move. It'll leave us with so little time, god, it'll put pressure on us."

"Jim Halpert, you'll stop talking now."

Much to Jim's surprise. He did.

"You are going to be fine. _We_ are going to be fine. We'll tackle each thing as it comes and we'll make this work. This is for the long haul, ok? We both need to get to a place where we're both happy and you weren't happy in that job. No matter what happens we'll be together, even if it means more nights apart. It's not like we're living together."

"I think I've done this ass backwards."

"Yeah, a little. But you'll figure it out and you've got your savings."

"I do." He had a lot to sort out and quickly too. He'd already started some balls rolling but he'd given himself a mountain to climb. "It's just, ever since I started thinking about doing that evening class I've been thinking about what I used to be like, what I used to want and how I'm not that guy anymore. I _liked_ that guy. It's like the floodgates opened and just doing some writing as a hobby won't be enough to scratch that itch. I've tried not to want it for so long, now I've started wanting it again, I've just... I've got to do it. I want to teach, earn terrible money and spend time with teenagers who haven't actually chosen the subject but have to attend anyway. What could go wrong?"

"Well, when you put it like that."

"I just got sucked into this shitty world of ties, spreadsheets and paper."

"You'll have to wear a tie if you're a teacher."

"Mr Wilks didn't wear a tie a single day of his teaching career and still commanded respect. I'm never wearing one of those things again."

"What about your part-time job, oh wait, they don't wear ties at McDonalds!"

"Things aren't that bad yet."

"Staples?"

"Don't joke about that! Not funny, Beesly!"

"I've checked, it's very funny, hilarious even."

"Laugh it up while you can, Bees, you're technically dating a jobless bum. So, what happened after I left?"

"Well, Michael cried and tried to fire Toby. He tried to call you but you weren't answering to anyone." She said pointedly.

"Sorry."

"Yeah, it's ok. Dwight celebrated and he's bringing cake next week, he's also claiming responsibility for finally breaking your spirit. Oh, and whatever you wrote on that note obviously did  
something because he spent the rest of the day searching through his desk and writing an inventory for future reference. What did you take?"

"Nothing. Just wrote a note saying I took something to remember him by and that I hoped he didn't mind. I guess I took his sanity for an afternoon, well worth it." Jim expression was borderline sadistic in its sheer level of glee that he'd managed to at least have the last laugh with Dwight, a cherry on the cake. Luckily Pam's expression almost matched his but was  
mixed with a little pride too.

"You're so evil." She grinned. "Where was I? Oh yeah, Toby called Jan; they want to talk to you about working your notice but Jan thinks she can convince you to stay. Kelly was pissed at me for not telling her what you were planning but I managed to convince her I didn't know. Angela's pissed because she would have been in charge of the leaving party and Creed asked why Steve left."

"Sounds about right."

"Also, everyone heard you call me honey."

"Ah, that going to be a problem?" Jim cringed.

"Well, Kevin had several different bets running so there's a bit of a dispute over when we got together, when you "hit that" and whether it counted as an announcement."

"Sorry I left you to face all of that alone, I could go kick Kevin's ass if you'd like?"

"It's ok, Kelly pretty much made a fortune so she's treating me to a new handbag and it's probably best them knowing how you're not there. Angela thought I was a hussy anyway and no one else was that surprised and a few people had already seen us. Michael was a bit upset we hadn't said anything but I handled him. So, what are you going to do about work?"

"I'm not going to work my notice; I'll give up my commissions instead, something in my contract about forfeiting if you leave suddenly or for a rival company. I know I could do with the money, but-"

"You don't have to explain, I understand. Can't believe you quit."

"I know. Should have planned a final goodbye or planned the most ultimate prank. Could have gone out with more of a spectacle." Jim pulled up in front of his parents, they'd arrived before he wanted but this conversation had a few hours left. Pam looked a little confused as to why they'd stopped. "We're here."

"Oh god. I forgot where we were going."

"Ready?"

"No."

"Come on, I'll be with you the whole time. You've already met my mom and sort of my dad. You look lovely by the way; I should have said that earlier."

"Thanks. Ok, let's do this."

"I'm sorry." Jim sighed.

"For what?"

"You know, just getting it in there early."

* * *

**Jim quit!**

**Yup, Pam broke the dam with the evening class suggestion and things are certainly gonna change now. Bee****n itching to write this for weeks.** **We saw in the show how Jim coped with Pam in New York so it's time to invert the scenario and have Jim follow his dreams while Pam's stuck within the grey walls of Dunder Mifflin. It's the biggest test of their relationship they've faced so far, well, apart from meeting Betsy. I was going to make a bigger deal of Jim and Pam revealing their relationship in the office but decided to make it a little more anti-climatic because they'd rather built it up in their heads. I think they liked keeping it a secret too, little thrill. **

**I promise, Betsy and Gerry Halpert are in the next chapter, there will be pavlova a****nd potting sheds****. **


	49. Chapter 49

**Monday.**

**Meet the parents. There will be no Ben Stiller in this chapter. Or warnings.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Nine: Friday Evening**

Pam held Jim's hand tight and prayed that Mark's magical rock would do its trick. She swore she could feel a reservoir's worth of water built up under her skin. Her stomach felt like it had its own heartbeat and it was racing. It wouldn't make a good impression if she threw up all over Jim's parents the moment she saw them. Jim looked as nervous as she felt but he forced a smile anyway and gripped her hand a little tighter.

The door opened and the strangely familiar face of Betsy stood on the other side. The same grey bobbed haircut from the hospital but this time she had a large smile. Pam remembered the rather stern look she wore at the hospital until she loosened up a little.

"Pam! Jim! Please come in." Beamed Betsy. She was fully made up with a summery dress on her slim frame. She gave Jim and Pam a light and very fleeting hug like it wasn't something she was used to doing but it was appreciated none the less. Jim handed over the bottle of wine they'd bought the day before which Betsy inspected before it passed muster. "Come in, come in. Right on time. Would you like a drink?"

"Yes please." Pam was grateful her voice worked. She'd been a kid last time she did this. Scratch that, she'd never done this before. Going round for algebra notes doesn't make for a formal introduction to your boyfriends' parents. That was kid stuff. "Thanks for inviting me, Mrs Halpert."

"Betsy, please, after all, you called me that before." She was referring to the hospital. At least that wasn't the elephant in the room. "We've been looking forward to having you both."

Jim's dad appeared from the kitchen wiping his hands on a tea towel. "Hello Pam." He held out a hand to shake. "I'm Gerry. Lovely to meet you. Properly." He shot Betsy a barbed look, obviously still a little sore over the hospital incident. Pam tried not to look like she was shrinking into herself; she really wished they'd forget about the whole thing.

"It must be nice to have your arm back." Pam tried for conversational but her throat felt tight with nerves. Gerald Halpert was just like an aged and more portly version of Jim. His grey hair was receding and he was sporting a paunchy belly. Jim's slim build obviously came from his slight, willowy mother.

"Certainly is, I can start my next little project soon." He rubbed his hands together with obvious glee.

Betsy sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Why don't you get Jim and Pam a glass of red and we'll settle in the living room? Your father has been up to his old tricks again."

"I have no doubt." Quipped Jim. Pam realised it was the first time he'd spoken since walking in the door. He was nervous.

Betsy showed them through to the living room. Nibbles were already laid out on the side tables and lit by various mismatched lamps picked up through the years. Jim gave her hand a comforting squeeze as they sat on an overstuffed sofa that almost ate them alive. The room looked recently decorated but still had a seventies vibe to it, lots of strange patterns and dark wood furniture.

"Lovely you could join us, Pam." Said Betsy. Jim's father joined them with drinks before sitting in the patriarchal-esque high back chair.

"It's nice to meet you both." Pam reminded herself that she knew how to speak and be polite. They _had_ to like her.

"So what's your project, dad?" Jim jumped in. Pam was grateful that it would give her a few minutes to settle in before the questions began. Everything felt warm and cosy but very formal.

"I've ordered a kit car; I'm going to build my own replica Porsche. One from the 1960s. Haven't done much electrical work on cars before but I've been reading up while I've be out of action  
and it sounds like fun. It's like really big Mecchano."

"So Tom will be moving back in for a few months?"

"Ha! Yeah, should have heard him, like a kid on Christmas, so excited, he's already started researching engines on that EBay website. I don't know how it works and your mother won't let  
me learn."

"Yeah, I don't think you and EBay is a good idea but the car sounds great, dad."

"So," Betsy interrupted and turned her steely gaze on to the shy girl trying to disappear into the fabric of the sofa. Pam wished she could muster up a little of the confidence she'd built up over the last few months but she was in over her head. "Pam, you're a receptionist at Dunder Mifflin?"

"Yes. I've been there four years now." Good, she thought, she could still speak. She didn't trust she had the ability to move though.

"Jim's told us a lot about you and your workmates. It must take dedication to stay there that long." Gerry joked. Pam relaxed a little; she was glad they didn't seem to be judging her for being 'just' a receptionist.

"It keeps me on my toes. I enjoy working there most days."

"Must be nice working alongside your boyfriend." Added Betsy, obviously making the effort to be encouraging even if it wasn't technically true anymore. Jim glugged some wine heavily.

"Well if we were going to get sick of each other it would have happened by now." Pam joked.

"Are your parent's local?"

"Uh, no they live an hour away but I see them a lot. My dad moved for work a few years back."

"What does he do?" Betsy continued, this being the question and answer portion of the evening. She could handle it; Jim was right beside her still holding her hand.

"He's an electrician, he and his team got a job servicing street lights and traffic control with the county up there." Blue collar and unable to retire for some years yet, she and Jim came from  
different economic backgrounds but it had never been an issue.

"And what about your mother?"

"She works in retail. She's managing an independent clothes shop at the moment. It's like a boutique, I guess, not really my style but it does well." Another question down, a billion to go.

"Lovely, I'll have to see what it's like sometime."

"Oh, um, the clothes are... a little provocative. Party dresses and club-wear for young women, it sells well and does a lot of online business, but I know I wouldn't be caught dead in a lot of  
the stuff! Mom's just a sensible head behind the scenes to keep it running smoothly."

"Ah, well I'll take your word for that." Betsy smiled. "I think my years of miniskirts are behind me." Things were still feeling a little stilted but it could be worse. A brief silence fell before Jim spoke up.

"Pam has a sister too." Jim chipped in. "Penny, she's a pharmacist at the Co-op. It's her boyfriend who's teaching me and Mark to box."

"Petite girl, blonde curly hair and a pretty smile?" Betsy asked.

"Sounds like Penny." Said Pam, hoping they didn't think Penny was prettier than her. A shallow thought, but there was a voice in her head telling her that Jim had gotten the plain sister. Her insecurities were having the run of her head due to the stress. What if they didn't think she was good enough?

"I had to go there for Gerry's pain medication for his arm, that's the only place that stocked the one our HMO covered, lovely girl, very helpful. Your parents were very lucky to have girls; these boys put ten years on me."

"Twenty on myself." Added Gerry. "I'm actually a toy boy."

Both Jim and Pam sniggered rather than laughed considering Betsy hadn't found it that funny. Pam was beginning to adore Jim's dad. She took a few mental breaths and tried to calm herself, everything was going fine so far.

"James here would have been called Hillary if our luck had been different." Betsy said with no clue at how funny that named seemed to Pam.

Pam nudged Jim. "Hillary." She repeated, just letting him know she wasn't going to forget that little titbit. Jim grimaced but she knew their roles would be reversed soon enough, the Fourth of July was looming. Hopefully he wouldn't feel such a wreck inside.

"Couldn't risk a fourth boy, nothing but trouble."

"I'd like to say Penny and I were different but we gave our parents a fair few grey hairs too. And a reason to have decent health insurance."

They talked about family for a while longer and Pam heard the latest about his brothers' families and their children. Pam faced a few more questions about her upbringing until Betsy was required in the kitchen.

"How about you show Pam around the house while I help your mother?" Suggested Gerry warmly. "She could do with a break from the inquisition." He gave Pam a wink and a smile that told her exactly where Jim had gotten that look from.

"Good idea."

"Jim never got to take many girls back to his room."

"Dad!" Jim flailed and glared. Pam giggled and shared a conspiratorial look with the elder Halpert. He was much easier to relax around than Betsy but that was mostly because both  
women were trying too hard. The more Pam tried to relax the worse it got.

"I didn't say you take any in there, just not many."

"Go help Mom before she drags you in there. Or I do."

It was nice to see Jim and his dad first hand, especially as Jim felt they were closer than they'd ever been after having that big chat a month ago.

Jim guided Pam to a room where she just fell into his arms the moment she heard the door click shut.

"God, I'm exhausted." She said into his chest, her arms wrapped tight and refusing to let go.

"You're doing great, they really like you." At least Jim sounded reasonably happy and relaxed now but that could be due to the glass of wine he drank quite quickly.

"How can you tell?"

"When Pete brought back a girl once who was... not particularly bright. Mom spent her time running rings around her. Mom respects you and you're holding your own. My dad just plain  
likes you."

"It's not even been an hour. I want to go to bed."

"Well..." Jim prised her off him much to her protestations. "That's my old bed."

Pam looked around for the first time. There wasn't really a scrap of Jim to be seen.

"Yeah, they've redecorated a dozen times since I moved out, my nieces and my nephew sleep in here now. But..." Jim sat and bounced on his old bed, "...this was mine."

Pam sat beside him. "So, did you ever have a girl in here?"

"To be honest, with my family, I would go to the girl's house or somewhere private for make out sessions. Not that I had many but I did ok."

"Wanna make out now?"

"Seriously?" His voice raised an octave or two along with his eyebrows.

"It would relax me and this bed deserves something more than the horny dreams of a teenage Jim Halpert."

"I'd argue but you're right once again, Beesly."

It was oddly arousing to be kissing in the room Jim grew up. In a part of her mind she could pretend she'd met Jim in high school and not Roy. It was sweet, almost like they were kissing  
for the first time again. After a couple of minutes Jim reluctantly separated them. "I better give you the official tour before I want to treat my bed to a lot more than making out."

Pam had an impish thought and gave into it. She grabbed his hands and put them on her breasts. "Second base. Over the clothes but it counts." She grinned. She stood up and ended the  
grope as quickly as she started it. "So, gonna show me more of the tour?"

"I want to ravish you right here but instead I can show you what my brothers called their Bat Caves. And then where Tom broke Pete's nose because there could only be one Bat Cave."

"I'll be the judge of which room makes the best Bat Cave."

...*...

Jim led her into Tom's old bedroom which was now a home office space and his dad's library of project books. Everything from How to Build Your Own Fibre Glass Canoe to Goat Husbandry. Luckily his mom had put her foot down about the goat.

"I'm guessing most of these books are your dads? Home Brew for Beginners."

"You'd be right and the home brew wasn't bad once you got your eyesight back. This used to be Tom's room. See that weird coloured patch on the ceiling? I put my foot through it during a  
fight."

"The ceiling? How did you..."

"Oh, dad built one of those bunk beds with a bed on top with a work station underneath."

"Ok, that makes more sense, wondered if you had trampolines in here for Matrix-style fighting."

"I aspired to be more Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles."

"How much trouble did you both get in?"

"Well, I started it, we were supposed to be banned from each other's room but Tom had stolen... it's silly now, either way I was grounded for quite a while and had extra chores. Pete's  
room is next door, they tried to make a secret tunnel between their rooms once, Escape from Alcatraz style. That was funny." Jim walked through to Pete's old bedroom. It was another spare bedroom but this time it was a double bed that almost completely filled the room. The bed was piled high with open suitcases for their impending trip to Chile.

"You can't really tell Pete spent eighteen years in this room now but that window sill is where I lost my first tooth."

"Oh god, another fight?"

"Nah, fell over a roller skate, it was kinda loose anyway, I just helped it along. There's really not much to see. Want to see the potting shed I built."

"Don't you mean, 'we' built, son?" Gerry Halpert stood in the doorway.

"Come on Dad, don't make me look bad." Jim joked back.

"Your mom kicked me out of the kitchen for adding pepper to the gravy. Did Jim show you where he hid a washcloth soaked in milk so it would stink out the room all summer?"

"No, he didn't. Good idea though, you think we could do that to Dwight's car?"

"You're encouraging him, Pam! Always thought Jim would have to find someone to tolerate his juvenile tendencies, not join in." He had a broad smile on his face that made Jim feel relaxed, he loved that Pam smiled easily back and laughed. Not a fake laugh he'd heard so many times directed at Michael and various unfunny clients but a genuine giggle. He only felt tense when his mom was performing her interrogation. He had a plan to make sure his mom couldn't get Pam alone again, at least not this visit.

"We're partners in crime, I'm afraid."

"She's a keeper, eh Jimmy?" He gave Jim a light slap on the back. "Let me show you the garden Pam and the potting shed we built."

They were led out to the garden, Jim's hand laced with Pam's, and into the evening air.

"Wow, impressive shed." Pam nodded with approval.

"Why thank you, Pamela. I pride myself on teaching my boys to be somewhat practical. Jim's not the best though. Always had his head in a book growing up. That's if he wasn't playing basketball or getting into trouble, especially him and Marky, like brothers those two. Tried to teach him the right end of a screwdriver."

"Thanks dad, way a go talking me up." He'd prepared for some comments like that, his dad never really understood his non-sporting passions growing up.

"Jim's got some mean Ikea skills, not as good as me though. And I own my own drill now." She said proudly.

"What kind?"

"A Bosch?"

"A woman after my own heart. Come, let me show you inside. Only room for two at a time, why don't you help your mother Jim and I'll show Pam what you helped build."

Jim hesitated. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"I'm not going to grill her, she's plenty smart enough to handle me and I won't take advantage her susceptibility to the Halpert charm, I promise." He flashed a smile he'd seen work on his  
mom a thousand times. It didn't work on himself though.

Jim looked to Pam, hoping she'd give him a clue as to what was the right move. "Go help your mom; I'm going to inspect your handiwork."

"Ok, well if you're not out in five minutes I'll come rescue you." He meant it. His dad was meant to be the easier one of the pair; this was a complete curve ball.

"Gosh Jim, you'd think you were leaving her alone with Tom and Petey."

"I wouldn't even consider that." Again, he meant it. "I'll see you in five, ok?"

"Go! I'll be fine!"

Jim reluctantly retreated to the kitchen wondering if he'd just led Pam into the lion's den and then left her there.

...*...

Gerry led an uneasy Pam into the muggy warmth of the potting shed. She liked the smell of warm compost, it was earthy and comforting but it didn't really take the edge of the situation  
she found herself mired. It was a tight squeeze with the two of them and the various plants and gardening equipment on the large shelves.

"I've got my zucchini's propagating here and some baby corn too. Betsy's got some French tarragon growing too, expensive stuff to buy." He gestured at various plants, some with broad leaves and some that just looked like blades of thick grass. "As Jim only gave you five minutes I'll cut to the chase. I am sorry about what happened at the hospital; Betsy's mothering instinct is especially strong with her youngest boy. He wasn't like our eldest two, more bookish and away with the fairies though he loves his basketball and he's learning to box. He was a skinny thing right up until his late teens. I guess that makes her more protective."

"I haven't thought twice about it. In a way it was nice to chat without worrying, at least I didn't say anything horrendously embarrassing." She laughed but it betrayed her nerves. "I should have worked it out when you said about your son having a girlfriend called Pam. And you look like Jim a lot when you smile."

"That's the Halpert charm in action." He laughed and smiled that same grin before turning more serious again. "I want you to know I gave her hell for it. She should have been honest with you. Jim's so obviously smitten with you and I wouldn't want us to get off on the wrong foot. Betsy can eat young girls for breakfast if she chooses."

"I hope she doesn't want to eat me." As ridiculous as the sentence sounded, she meant it sincerely.

"Not at all, I think she's treated you the best out of all the spouses so far. Well, apart from the hospital fiasco. We're actually a very dull family."

"Dull works for me." She said, thinking of her father's battle with cancer. "So, any embarrassing stories about Jim to share?"

"I'm under strict orders not to share anything."

"What Betsy doesn't know..." She mused aloud.

"Actually my orders are from Jim."

"Sneaky thing." She smirked.

"Just like his mother, don't tell him I said that though!"

"Secret's safe with me."

"I'll tell you one thing, Jim's a good man. He works hard at a steady job with promotion prospects and he's been independent since he left college, we're very proud. He matured, lost some of those crazy ideas and got a career that could provide one day, that's what's important. That's what we raised our boys to do." Pam suddenly felt the oppressive warmth of the shed close around her and hoped Gerry didn't notice. Jim was right, they wouldn't understand what he'd done today but she wasn't sure how long he'd be able to hide it. Scranton was a small town when you've lived here for over thirty years.

Gerry was moving tools about and continuing to talk, he hadn't noticed a thing. "Oh, his favourite childhood toy was a cuddly mouse called Monty. He kept it until he was eleven but then it only went under his bed, I'm sure he's still got it but you didn't hear that from me." He tapped his slightly sunburnt nose that he shared with his son and winked.

"Oh that's far too cute to be embarrassing."

"Ah my girl, you're still in that in first flush of romance. You should see his high school year book photo."

Pam couldn't help but laugh. "Oh I've seen that! I've got it in my bedside table; Jim gave it to me as a present at Christmas."

"I will tell him to improve his gifts. He'll have to do better to keep a girl like you."

"Oh no, it was perfect, it was part of our office secret Santa, he gave me a teapot full of in-jokes and music. Only things we'd understand."

"As long as it made you happy." He said warmly.

"It did. Very much."

"Let's go join Jim before he has a heart attack or Betsy drives him mad."

The air outside felt so cold in comparison to the warmth she'd acclimatised to in the potting shed. They found Jim looking slightly harassed in the kitchen being given orders to stir gravy. Betsy was fretting over the vegetables and Gerry took over the gravy stirring duties and told Jim to show Pam some of the pictures in the living room.

Once out of sight and earshot Jim turned to Pam with a look of pure worry. "Oh god, you ok? Sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone, divide and conquer, it's a classic tactic. I'm so, so,  
stupid." He rambled so fast each word was running into the other. "I thought mom would try something, I didn't think dad would-"

"Shhh, it's fine, we had a nice chat, I really, really like your dad. You share a lot of traits."

"Not just the ears and nose?" Jim was an expert at self-deprecation.

"You share some of the same mannerisms and he's right about the charm."

"So, what did you talk about?"

"Show me some pictures while we talk."

"Ok." Jim strolled toward the far wall strewn with pictures. "This is me and my brothers visiting my cousins in Canada, I'm about seven or eight." A skinny little boy in a hand- me-down  
t-shirt and short shorts sat on a dock edge with his feet in the water and a gap-toothed grin. Behind him was a teenage Pete and Tom, one with his arm slung around the other. "You gonna tell me?"

"He told me about vegetables. And he said he was proud of you."

"Proud?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

Pam didn't really want to answer fully, she didn't want Jim to doubt his decision to quit. "For your independence, you're a good man. You sound so worried, it's ok."

"I know, it's just, I'm a little on edge. Didn't think I'd find this so stressful and what with today, I swear they're just going to read my mind."

Pam turned to face another picture and wrapped Jim's arms around her waist from behind, she needed him to relax if they were going to make it through dinner without him cracking up.  
"Come on, what about this picture, that Pete?"

"Yeah, that's Gracie his wife and their two girls, Jack who's seven and Vanessa who's two but she's scary smart for her age."

"Cute kids."

"Here's Tom and Olivia, she's from the Azores and their little girl Sophie, she's only a few hours old in his picture."

"Olivia has just given birth?" It couldn't be possible; she looked beautiful, like a natural beauty with dark hair and olive skin.

"Yup."

"How can she look that good, good enough to be on a wall?"

"I know, she's really nice too, doesn't let Tom get away with anything."

"You think we'll earn a spot on the wall?"

"Definitely." Jim kissed the top of her head as they moved on to group photo of aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.

There were disturbed by Jim's dad opening the door. "Jimmy, come help bring food out on to the table."

"I'll help too." Pam offered.

"You're our guest, have a look around our photo gallery and we'll be ready for you shortly."

...*...

Jim hated to abandon Pam again but she'd be safe on her own. It would give her time to catch her breath before dinner.

"You planning on sneaking Pam into the shed again, Dad?" He cocked an accusing eyebrow.

"I had some things I needed to say."

"What are you intentions, kinda thing?" He knew as the sarcastic words came out of his mouth he sounded like his fourteen year-old self.

"I wanted to make sure she didn't think ill of us, I think I'm entitled to that and I'd appreciate a little less attitude."

"Ok, fine, sorry. It's not like I do this every day, you brought mom home to Gramps and Nana once."

"And that was an unmitigated disaster so I think I'm doing well so far. I like the girl; you've chosen well, she's probably too good for you."

"Yeah, probably. Thanks though."

"Come on, your mother knows we're lurking in the hallway and her patience won't last long."

Jim helped carry the mountain of food through, enough to feed eight people but he didn't mention it. It smelled more than delicious and his mom had put a lot of effort into the meal. When  
Jim had come in from the garden the first question she asked was whether Pam liked her. He'd never seen his mom seek approval like that before, not on a personal level.

With three people dinner was soon laid out and Jim collected Pam to sit at the table. Luckily they were sat quite close so Jim could give her a supportive toe-touch under the table as he couldn't hold her hand.

"Wow Betsy, how on earth did you manage this, it's a feast." Pam praised and the smile on his mom's face was enough to tell him she'd said the right thing.

"I've spent a good portion of my life feeding four hungry boys and men who could eat me out of house and home. I don't know how Jim stayed as skinny as he was, he'd eat like it was his  
last meal."

They room filled to the sounds of clattering spoons and crockery as they piled up their plates with the roast meal.

"So Pam, last I heard you were applying for some art classes?" Asked Betsy while passing round a bowl heaped with green beans.

"Oh yes, I've been accepted on the two I applied for." She said quietly while placing a few potatoes on her plate. Jim was just bursting with pride.

"I'm really excited; one of the classes is multimedia so I'll be doing everything from glazing pottery to enamelling silver."

"That sounds like a lovely hobby, dear."

Jim felt the hairs prickle on the back of his neck.

"Well I'm hoping to take it further one day, being a receptionist isn't really my calling in life."

"There's certainly room for advancement in your current field, lots of good management positions in administration, of course, not in small offices like yours but I know that personal  
assistants can be paid well too."

"There's legal secretary training too." Added his father. Jim was getting riled; they could force their career path ideas to him but not to Pam. "Plenty of transferable skills from the work you  
currently do at Dunder Mifflin."

"Pam's a really talented artist and there are a lot of opportunities in that field too." He tried to sound as light as he could but he was sure Pam knew he was pissed.

"It's very competitive though, darling. You have to be really, really good." Jim knew his mom didn't intend to sound condescending but her words reeked.

"You've not seen Pam's work yet." Either way, it wasn't up for debate.

"And we're looking forward to it aren't we, Gerry?"

"Definitely. What do you like to work with, Pam?"

"Oh, uh, I like different styles, everything from charcoal to watercolour. I've not worked with oils much because they're so expensive. Jim bought my some pastels for our anniversary and  
I've been doing a lot with those recently, Lake Scranton is surprisingly pretty at the moment." Jim could tell Pam had tensed up; she was talking far too quickly. He tried to force himself to relax his shoulders and hope that would help Pam but he just wanted to get her out of there.

"You must be talented if you can bring out the beauty of that desolate hell hole! Carrots, Pam? Freshly grown." Gerry thrust the bowl in her direction.

"Thanks, I love carrots. What else do you grow?" Jim felt Pam give his knee a squeeze. If only they had a telepathic link he'd be telling her exactly how in love with her he was and that  
he'd happily talk about organic fruit and vegetables for the rest of the night. A sly smile she snuck him in a blink of an eye made him think that maybe they did have telepathic powers.

They killed time by talking about gardening and their plans on keeping chickens next year as an experiment until the conversation rolled around to plans for the future again.

"So, do two plan on moving in together at some point?"

"We're just happy with things as they are right now." Jim answered even though his mom had directed the question at Pam.

"Good, it's not good to rush into these things. I guess that's a bridge you can cross when Jim's career advances. Corporate is based in New York. I guess that's the place to be for the art  
world too."

Jim wished this night would end already and knew he'd been stupid to put so much food on his plate. He should have served up the bare minimum and gotten take-out on the way home. "Trying to get rid of me, mom?" he joked, it was the best tool he had for dealing with his parents without losing his temper.

"Of course not dear, but you'll want to support a family one day. That takes money." Jim was tempted to come out with his resignation to shock his mom but he'd have to handle that more tactfully. He was meant to be a mature adult, not a teenage rebelling against his parents' ideals. He could feel that urge to snap, tell them he'd prove them wrong.

"Betsy, don't marry the boy off with children before they've had a chance to enjoy being together first, remember it was us once."

Jim used his telepathy to send thanks to his dad even if he was still annoyed over the potting shed stunt.

By the time dessert was served Jim was ready to fall asleep and Pam was flagging too. He never imagined it would be this draining.

"Wow Betsy, that's the most amazing pavlova I've ever seen, did you make it from scratch?"

"It's quite simple really, dear, I always put in a teaspoon of white vinegar to keep the meringue nice and white, that's the secret." His mom had drunk a couple of glass with wine with dinner so was a little more relaxed and trying less hard to impress Pam.

"I'll have to tell Mark that one."

"Why would Mark be interested in pavlova? The boy can barely make grilled cheese!" Betsy scoffed.

"Mark's been learning to cook, he's got a natural talent for it but he's mean now, we're banned from touching anything when he's cooking."

"He even keeps his herbs and spices in alphabetical order." Added Pam.

"Who would have thought? I remember the first time Jim brought the boy round to play basketball, two gangly things with acne and braces, such handsome young men. How's his mother,  
I haven't seen her recently?"

"She's good; Mark and I helped clear her attic space earlier this week as she's planning a yard sale this weekend." Jim decided not to mention Robert Ellis's most recent folly and Mark's  
new half-brother. It always sent his parents into a rage about responsibility. Jim liked that they were on Mark and his mom's side, but it wouldn't be appropriate tonight. "We've now got boxes of comics in our living room and loads of Mark's old stuff he didn't want to let go but it's kept us out of trouble for the last few days."

Betsy sighed dramatically and shook her head. "How on earth do you put up with these boys, Pam?"

"They're fun, they let me join in and don't worry about catching cooties."

"I'm sure they'll grow up one day." She sighed.

"Dad still hasn't, just his toys have gotten bigger."

Pam giggled which Jim took as a good sign she was relaxed around his dad who wasn't exactly protesting.

"He's got a point, Bets. Smart lad we raised."

"Far too smart for sales."

Jim opened his mouth to change the subject but Pam beat him to it. Jim was convinced of his telepathic powers now.

"Uh, Mark said I should look forward to some baby pictures?"

"Oh yes!" Said Gerry, clapping his hands together. "We'll finish up here and I'll go grab a couple of albums, I think I've got some choice ones from his teens too. Of course you're familiar  
with his year book photo."

Pam turned to smile right at Jim and he felt centred again. He always felt a little off balance at his parents but having Pam with him made him feel a little less on the back foot. He had someone fighting his corner now.

"We Halpert men tend to grow into our features; I'm sure you were a pretty child Pam but be prepared for some gawky looking teenagers."

Jim was feeling flush with embarrassment that his dad was already talking about children but Pam giggled none-the-less. They were barely at two months but it felt like they were travelling at light speed.

"I was a mousey little thing."

"Can't wait to see yours." Jim directed his question at Pam, forgetting for a moment in whose company he was sitting.

"Wanna see yours first, your most embarrassing ones please."

"I only do cute."

"And freakishly large ears." Added Gerry which earned him a scowl from his wife. "What? All the boys have them! Pam here must have noticed."

"Nope, not at all." Pam said all too innocently.

"So, I'm full, shall we commence the ritual humiliation now? No home movies right?"

"We'll save that for Pam's next visit."

...*...

They'd spent just over an hour looking through photo albums. Almost every summer one of the boys had a limb in a cast from a stunt or prank gone awry and they'd gently poked fun at Betsy's ever changeable hairstyle. Gerry was also fond of the sandals and socks combination which earned him some ribbing too.

"Oh Jim! Look at you! Is that Mark?"

"Yep, that's us in a soap box derby, we spent a month building that thing. A beast of a vehicle."

"Not that he remembers much, he was talking all kinds of jibberish in the ER when he came to. Mark was very good looking after him; I think he'd done it before." Gerry shot a knowing look  
at his son.

"Mark did first aid training."

"He had to if he wanted to be your friend. He came down with appendicitis shortly after that didn't he?"

"Yeah. We had a good day though, his mom took that picture with this really old camera Mark bought from a pawn shop for her birthday, she still uses it now even though he got her a  
digital one for Christmas."

Pam stifled another yawn and turned over the page. She just hoped Jim would pick up on her exhaustion, she just wanted to curl up in bed next to him and sleep, even the sugar in the pavlova wasn't keeping her awake.

"What time do you guys have to leave for the airport?" Jim asked.

"Six am, saying that we might have to draw this evening to a close, your father is awfully grumpy when he doesn't get at least six hours."

"I think it's best we don't get into a debate on who's the worse morning person, I'd hate to bring up the alarm clock incident."

Betsy smiled and nestled in closer to her husband, there were certainly many different sides to the matriarch of the family. "I was being completely reasonable. It would have been unreasonable if I'd thrown it at you. Clanging bells is no way to wake up."

"Gave me an excuse to practice my plastering skills."

"And I got that lovely musical device which plays different sounds, I love to wake up to the sounds of the rainforest, now that's a way to wake up, none of this noise and horror."

"And I get the joy of being woken by being poked in the ribs."

"It's a perfect system." Betsy beamed as Gerry gave her a kiss on the cheek. Pam had never seen such a thing and she certainly didn't expect it from Gerry and Betsy.

"Before you guys decide to scar us both for life we better make a move." Jim deadpanned before rising off the couch.

The finish line, she'd made it.

"Yes, that sounds good."

They all stood and made their way to the entrance way, retrieved jackets and such. It was happening so abruptly but Pam was glad to be going if only because she had gotten this far without making any huge errors.

"It has been lovely to meet you Pam; we'll have to have another meal when we get back from Chile." Said Betsy sincerely, still with her arm around Gerry.

"I'm looking forward to the photos." Said Pam. "I wish I was going."

"Jim will have to take you somewhere nice; Puerto Rico is lovely this time of year."

Pam would love to take a vacation with Jim but that seemed unlikely after today. She could live without the travel; Jim being happy was the most important thing. She had been looking  
forward to leaving the country though, she was a little disappointed.

"It has been a pleasure Pam." Said Gerry warmly. "Make sure he treats you right, we men sometimes need to be trained."

"Thanks dad, but I think I'm doing ok."

"Well you've got motivation to get promoted now; you've been just a salesman for too long." Chided Betsy. Pam understood a little more about why Jim was like he was sometimes. She  
bit back some words of support or a quip about how they could adopt Dwight.

"Yeah, yeah, we've gotta go." Jim gave his mom a hug and Pam embraced them both briefly. "Call me when you land so we can wish you a happy Fourth of July."

Pam loved that he'd said 'we'. This was the real deal now. Of course it was before, but she'd met his parents and considered them a 'we' in front of them. Pam couldn't stop smiling.

"Of course, dear. Drive safe."

With a few more goodbyes they made it to the car and pulled away.

Pam let out a long exhale and melted into the seat. "I'm gonna sleep for a week. Hillary."

Jim either ignored the joke or it flew right over his head. "That went ok, right? I think it did but I've got no frame of reference." He was still wound tight.

"Neither do I but it did go well. I had a nice time. Your mom really mellowed towards the end of the night, it's clear she loves your dad so much, wish my parents were like that sometimes."

"What? All cuddly? They always get like that; they're either bickering or making up. Story of my childhood. Fighting and making up."

"My folks aren't like that. They're lovely, your parents, I think your dad likes me."

"He does, I could tell by the way he was teasing you, he felt comfortable with you. He didn't freak you out in the potting shed, did he? He said he spoke to you about the hospital."

"Yeah, he just wanted to make sure I wasn't upset about it. Which I'm not, by the way."

"Good, good. My mom really likes you; she actually asked if you liked her, that's a huge deal."

"Wow. I won over Betsy Halpert. Cool." Pam yawned; she was drained mentally as well as physically.

"Yeah... it is."

"You ok, honey?"

"Yeah, just tired. I'm sorry they tried to push stuff on you, it's like a reflex to them."

"You mean the career stuff?"

"Yeah, they just can't help it, I mean; you see how they were with all the promotion stuff."

"It doesn't bother me and I don't want it to bother you either, you've got to live your life for you, not them."

"I know, it's just hard when you've heard all your life what makes a good man and you've just quit your job and have nothing lined up."

"You did the right thing though, you'll get something to tie you over and you'll get your teaching qualification. In ten years you won't be regretting this but you would have regretted not  
quitting and giving this a shot."

"I think you're right, hell, I _know_ you're right, it's just, hard to not think like that sometimes."

"If you're feeling down I guess you could always find Monty."

"Who?"

"Monty the Mouse."

"Oh god, knew my dad would say something in that potting shed!"

"We did ok, it was crazy stressful but we did it." They did it. Pam yawned again. "Your parents are lovely."

"You really think so?" Jim's scrunched up his mouth. "I was kinda worried."

"I like them, I'm looking forward to spending lots of dinners and occasions with them."

"You have no idea what you're letting yourself in for."

"Well round two is to come."

"Yeah, then our parents will want to meet each other."

"Don't even joke about that, Hillary Halpert!"

"God, I cannot wait to get some dirt on you!"

* * *

**I hope that hit the spot. That's how I imagine it realistically taking place. I actually drew a lot of inspiration from when I first met my husband's parents (after a seven hour drive, madness), that sense of forced relaxation and mothers trying very hard to please. I could have made silly things happen but I wanted this to be as true to the Halpert's as possible. Betsy will probably flip a bitch when she finds out Jim quit though... that'll be fun! **


	50. Chapter 50

**Friday update time, lets jump right in. Jim's testing out his new career choice.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty: Thursday Eve****ning**

"I'd rather lick zombie ass."

"That all?"

"Zombie ass with a side salad?" The teen suggested.

Jim sniggered and smothered a louder laugh. "That fearful of vegetables?"

"Not scared, they're just rank."

"You know you could use your sense of humour in your assignment I wouldn't use the word 'ass' though."

"How though? I'm supposed to be writing like I'm some guy in Vietnam, it's all boring war and stuff."

Jamie slumped back in his chair and flipped his over-sized hoodie over his half shaved head and crossed his arms over his chest. He was Jim's trial as part of the outreach program dealing  
with kids struggling at school. Danny was a volunteer teaching boxing and had set Jim up with an interview to become a mentor in their homework assistance class the teens were obliged to fulfil as well as the fun stuff. They used the community centre which was fairly well equipped and nice and bright.

"Don't you think the guys who went to Vietnam would have preferred chunky slice of zombie butt over being where they were? Who says your guy isn't sarcastic and covering his fear  
using humour."

"So I can rip the shit out of the situation?"

"Think about it first. You're a guy who had his whole life mapped out, maybe he had a girlfriend and a job, all he knew was his home town. Now he's fighting a war he doesn't understand and has been trained and instructed to kill another human being, enemy or not. He's on the other side of the world traipsing around in a jungle knowing that he could be killed any second and he'll never hear the gunshot that did it."

"Fuck." He flipped his hoodie down and sat forward in his chair more alert than he'd been since they'd sat down.

"Remember the rules?"

"Sorry. Shucks, mister Halpert." Jamie said mockingly but with no malice. It was an uphill struggle but at least he was getting full sentences out of the teen.

"Better. Ever seen any Vietnam movies?"

"Nah, old films are sh-, bad."

"Well you're not actually old enough for the good stuff, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, Platoon." Not that Jim though that Jamie paid much attention to certification; Jim didn't at his age when he'd steal his older brother's videos to watch with Mark when his mom worked late shifts.

"My brother has Full Metal Jacket."

"Ask your mom if you can watch it for research, you're only a couple of years short of the certificate and you've probably seen worse. Not a bad deal, huh?"

"I'll be sure to follow that assignment, Mr Halpert." He saluted mockingly. Jamie had been a part of the outreach program since it started three years ago and was always on the edge of trouble. Jim had taken to him though; he had an odd charm about him for all of his supposed apathy and attitude.

"Have a notebook handy so you can jot down ideas."

"I thought you just wanted me to watch a movie! Why'd I have to take notes?" He protested, arms flailing.

"Because you've got to keep in mind your character and how might he react to his situation. You already know he's sarcastic, maybe a bit of a cynic, what made him like that?"

"Dunno, maybe he just had a shit life."

Jim ignored the curse, Jamie was thinking. "How so?"

"Maybe he got beat or his mom drank. Usual crap kids go through."

"Ok, so your guy has been let down, he's had to rely on himself. How would he feel about being part of a platoon? He's going to be part of a team where they've each got to depend on each other to live."

"He'll find it hard?"

"That's up to you, think about what makes sense. Here," Jim pulled out a sheet of paper, "what's your guy's name?"

"What names did they have in the sixties?"

"Well that's forty years ago and say your guy isn't much older than you now, so who do you know in their sixties?"

"My neighbour, he's called John."

"John's good. How about a last name?"

"Smith?" He shrugged.

"Great. John Smith."

"Smithson. Smith is too boring and my guy ain't no douchebag."

Jim wrote 'John Smithson' at the head of the paper. "Right, write down some things you know about him."

Jamie without further prompting picked up his pen and wrote down what they knew so far. Cynic, sarcastic and 'not a douchebag'. Luckily these notes weren't going to be submitted as  
part of the assignment so Jim could let it slide. Finally Jamie wrote 'screwed up over childhood, angry, doesn't trust people, keeps to himself', that last note wasn't something they'd talked about which meant Jamie was actually thinking about the exercise and Jim gave himself a mental cheer. The spelling was poor but it was content they were working towards.

"Keep going." Jim encouraged when Jamie looked to him for approval.

"I guess, he's friends with the guys he's with, but he doesn't get too close because of the trust thing. That makes sense right?"

"Total sense."

"Cool. Ok, so when he's in the jungle he's scared because no one wants to die, not unless they're suicidal or something."

"Is your guy suicidal?"

"No."

"Write that down, character traits he doesn't have can help you too. The more you know about John the better, you're writing his thoughts. Getting into his head."

"Ok, so he wants to live."

"What does he want to live for?"

"He wants a better life. Like most people."

"How's he gonna do that?"

"Stay in school? All that crap."

"Does he think he's smart? Does he have skills or talents?"

"He's not smart but he's tired of being pushed around."

"So he wants to be independent."

"Yeah. Hold on, let me write some of this down."

Jim watched silently as Jamie scrawled more and more detail on the page. Each idea led to another. Then he wrote 'he trusts his leader'.

"Why'd you write that?"

"Well, I figure he's got to trust someone, maybe the guy in charge did something to prove he can be trusted. That's why he's out there, walking in the jungle towards guys who want to shoot him and not running like some chicken in the other direction. He doesn't want to let him down."

"Awesome. Carry on, don't let me stop you."

Jamie wrote until he complained about his hand aching. "Gimme a keyboard any day, can't deal with pens and sh-, stuff."

"You've definitely got enough to get started."

"So I can start the monologue or whatever now?"

"Only one more thing you need to think about."

"John's in the jungle right? What's that like?"

"Full of snakes?"

"Snakes, spiders, bugs, bats, booby traps, enemies. It's also hot, sticky and wet."

"That's what she said." Jamie sniggered but was taken aback when Jim started laughing too.

"If you knew Michael Scott you'd never say that again."

"Who's Michael Scott?"

"My old boss at Dunder Mifflin."

"You're not a teacher?"

"I want to be, I used to sell paper. I guess like John Smithson I wanted more too."

"Cool. Are you gonna be here tomorrow? I could write the start tonight and bring it in, just in case I'm doing it wrong."

"I'm not down for tomorrow but I can ask Mrs Watson if I can come by to have a look."

"That be sweet. Do I have to do one of those essay plans?"

"I find them helpful but as you're just writing John's thought as they come it's up to you. You could write a guide on things that happen around him? How does he feel, does he hear gun  
shots or fall over?"

"Maybe he gets shot! Oh, I could kill him, you know like you said, you never hear the shot that kills you. I could just stop mid sentence and he's dead."

"Jamie, my man, that's an awesome ending." Jim gave him a pat on the back and Jamie smiled genuinely for the first time. This beat that damn conference room by a mile.

"I'm gonna go write it now while I'm thinking about it. Thanks Mr Halpert, see you tomorrow. Holy shit, I'm gonna be a fuckin' famous writer one day, write shit people wanna read."

"Jamie!" Admonished Susan Watson, the retired teacher running the program.

"Sorry, Mrs Watson, just this is the coolest thing I've ever got to write. Mr Halpert says I can watch a movie for it too."

"Which one?"

Jim met Jamie's eyes. Jim was on trial here and advising a student to watch a film featuring some decidedly adult themes would not be ideal for his future as a mentor.

"Good Morning Vietnam." He lied. Jim would have to work on not corrupting his students and allowing them to lie.

"Oh how lovely, that's a good reference point for you."

"Thanks, Mr Halpert's good by the way, better than the old folks you keep sticking me with."

"I'm pleased to hear it Jamie, we'll see you tomorrow?"

"Definitely. I'll bring my notes on the film too. See you!" He slung his bag over his shoulder and head off out the door.

"Looks like you two hit it off." Said Susan. For a petite old lady she was a formidable woman. Her hair was white like snow and cut into a pixie style crop. She was immaculately dressed with a pair of reading glasses perched on the end of her nose. Jim could feel that he was smiling like an idiot but that hour with Jamie had been exactly what he'd hoped. He knew Susan had given him an easy one to start with but he'd met his first challenge.

"Jamie's a great kid, wicked sense of humour."

"Yes, it's indeed very ... colourful." They walked and sat at another table. Other mentors sat around them, some with maths text books spread around, others with science. "I observed you for a while, you really engaged him in the subject matter."

"Thanks."

"He'll enjoy Full Metal Jacket." She smiled.

"Oh, um, yeah."

"Compared to stuff some of these kids see it'll actually be good for him to watch with a more academic mind set."

"I wasn't sure if I should have done that."

"You've got some leeway here and Kubrick is one of my favourite directors."

"Mine too."

"Jamie is one of our less resistant students."

"I figured you'd go easy on me."

"Can't go scaring you off can we, Jim." She teased.

"Jamie wants to show me the start of his work tomorrow, is it ok if I swing by?"

"Of course. Do you want to do another shift tomorrow? There's a girl, Loretta, she's painfully shy and behind in most of her classes, she could do with help in most areas, math, English, science, you name it. I'd like to see if you could bring her out of her shell but don't prioritise the work, her self esteem needs building before she can think about solving problems."

"I'd love to."

"Wonderful."

"Is there anything I should do differently? Anything I did wrong?"

"You were honest and you didn't condescend. If anything, I'd tell you to be more confident but that will come when you've had more experience."

A yell and a thrown book came from the other side of the room. Jim expected Susan to rush over but she just watched as the mentor calmly controlled the angry teen with words alone. The teen picked up the book and sat down again. Jim wasn't sure how he would have reacted. Susan answered the question written on his face.

"Don't worry; we prepare mentors on how to handle outbursts, keeping calm is the key, that and not showing fear."

"Like with bears." Jim had been worrying he'd quit his job to early. Now he knew he'd stayed too long.

"Exactly like with bears. They smell weakness too. These children aren't evil, in Evan's case he's frustrated, he just doesn't believe he can do the work so doesn't want to try. He doesn't  
think anything can be learnt from even trying."

"I understand that."

"Well I think today's trial was successful. We'd love to see you again. I'll want to see you a few more times before we make anything permanent."

"I really loved it, thanks for giving me a shot. I know people throw about the word rewarding but it really, really was. I'm actually really excited about what Jamie's gonna write."

"I'll see you tomorrow then." They stood and Susan heartily shook his hand. "You did well."

"Thanks."

Jim was almost skipping to the parking lot and had to tell someone about how it went while he was still on a high.

"Hey darling? School out?" Said Pam.

"Yep, and it was awesome, utterly, totally, frickin' awesome!"

"Tell me every detail."

"Well, I got interviewed by Susan, she's an ex- high school Principle from Ohio and she said the best way to judge a mentor was to see them working with a child. She interviewed me first but then set me to work. I got paired up with Jamie, he's sixteen and kinda troubled but he's really, really sweet in a sarcastic way. Anyway, he was completely against his homework assignment and just sat not looking at me for ages, even put his hood up so he could hide but then I got him thinking about it and he engaged, god Pam, it was brilliant, I could see the moment when he actually started thinking for himself rather than just shrugging me off. You should have seen him when he left, he was so pumped up. I'm coming back tomorrow to see what he's written and give him feedback. Hell, I'm even thinking about writing a short piece on how the enemy might be thinking."

"Enemy?"

"Oh, he's got to write a piece in the mind of a American soldier on patrol in Vietnam."

"That sounds cooler than anything I ever did."

"I know! God Pam, it's just brilliant, I can't believe I hadn't thought about volunteering before, I had no idea this program existed. I'm going to get a new kid tomorrow too, Loretta, really  
shy with low self esteem."

"I love you."

"I'm breathless from talking so fast."

"You feel alive, don't you?"

"I do. I really do."

"If you ever doubt you've done the wrong thing by quitting and pursuing this just think back to this moment and how good it feels."

"Fucking fantastic."

"Tell me more, were there lots of kids?"

"About a dozen but some come on different days, they're only open three days a week and then you've got the sports and dance outreach too. You could volunteer to teach art Pam."

"Maybe next year when I know what I'm doing a bit more."

"Oh man, this was so cool but I better leave now, I'm sat in the parking lot."

"You're not home?"

"I was so excited, I had to tell someone."

"I could just hear you talk all day, I love hearing you so passionate and excited."

"And not just in the naked way?"

"I love the naked way too, all I can think about at work without you there. I'm just happy to hear you so happy."

"I am happy." Scarily so. How long had he been unhappy with this part of his life? He'd been so focused on Pam for so long, everything less had faded to grey by comparison. What had  
happened to him? Ever since he'd left college he'd been sliding. Dunder Mifflin was supposed to be temporary to keep his parents off his back and earn some money until he decided what to do. "Can I come over? I feel like my whole body is humming right now and I want you to feel it too." He wanted to talk too but he was full of adrenaline to work off first.

"I'll be waiting, let yourself in."

* * *

**Go Jim! So happy for him. He's had a major switching rails moment and he's loving it so far. We'll see him at Pam's in Monday's update.**

**Updates might slow up, I'm going to try and keep on top of my chapters but offline life is a little hectic and I wanna give you my best stuff.**


	51. Chapter 51

**Monday update again!**

**We'll be switching back to Monday only updates as I've run through my buffer of chapters. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-O****ne****: Thursday Eve****ning Continued**

Jim arrived a little later than he planned as he'd called Mark to let him know he wasn't going to be home for dinner but ended up talking excitedly about his experience with Jamie. Mark was still referring to him as a 'bum' for being jobless but he had a couple of interviews for work the following week. It was a bit disconcerting, but Mark kept slapping him on the back and telling him he was doing the right thing and that he'd fight his corner if, or rather 'when', his parents flipped out. Then he'd make a joke about being Jim's sugar daddy and the sweetness left.

Mark's reaction had been quite something. He was all ready to make Jim apologise for being a bit of a dick to him before they left for the Parental Dinner, which Jim did of course, even if he didn't include all of the superlatives Mark had asked for. Then Jim sat him down on the couch told him why he'd been so uptight.

"_Dude, you're totally shi-" He saw Pam nodding. "Mr Dependable quit? You, Jim Duncan Halpert, born of the loins of Elizabeth and Gerald Halpert, quit your job?"_

"_Yes."_

"_No."_

"_Seriously, I quit this afternoon and I'm gonna train to be a high school English teacher."_

"_Mr and Mrs Prankerton here don't fool this piece of cheese so early in the morning." Mark pointed accusingly at them both. _

_Pam was giggling and whispered, "Has he been drinking all night?" The unfortunate answer was that he was stone cold sober; he'd eaten a whole bag of Haribos. _

"_Well it's true, Mr Cheese except that it's midnight and what's up with the whole Mr and Mrs thing?"_

"_I got given a bag of sweets at work. You know, that place I go to earn money so I'm not a bum. Listen, you shouldn't joke about the teaching."_

"_Dude, seriously, I've applied at places, I should be able to commute, I'm gonna do this."_

_Mark stared at him. Then at Pam. "Is he screwing with me?"_

"_Nope, I was there."_

"_Was it good?"_

"_Meh, needed more planning. Ten out of ten for the surprise factor, right in the middle of the conference room during a seminar on time wasting."_

"_How long have you been planning this and not told me?" Mark actually looked hurt._

"_I knew about thirty seconds before I actually did it. Should I text next time?" _

"_Appreciated."_

"_Not the smartest way to do it, I know."_

"_You have no job. Are you moving out?"_

"_I'm not moving out, I've got savings and I'm going to get another job, I'll have student loans too."_

"_Oh man! This is fantastic! Mr Halpert, the teacher!" He grabbed Jim by the upper arms and jiggled him around a bit. "Well done Pam, you've done more in two months than I've done since we  
moved in. If only I had boobs, might have made some headway." _

"_Mark! For crying out loud, you can't even use being drunk as an excuse!"_

"_What? I'm stating a fact, right Pam?"_

"_Right. It's practically scientific fact, Jim." She witheringly shook her head at Jim. _

"_Seriously, this is awesome Jimmy. Don't freak out on us, will you? Shit!" He exclaimed like he'd just realised he'd left the gas on. "What did your parents say?"_

"_I didn't tell them."_

"_Good, good, they are going to go mental. I mean they'll flip a bitch."_

"_I know. But they'll get over it."_

"_Maybe."Mark said dourly._

"_Yeah..."_

"_You got us, we'll help you out, morale support and pizza on occasion. Maybe you can get some part-time work one of Nick's stores?"_

"_Clean up on aisle five, clean up on aisle five." Pam said over her fake tannoy before being rewarded with a high-five from a laughing Mark. Everything would be fine._

Jim stood outside Pam's door and slipped his key into the lock. It still felt so good to do that simple thing.

"Hey Pam."

"Hey!" Pam bounded up to give him an enthusiastic hug. She'd changed out of her work clothes and into a skirt and t-shirt. What caught him off guard was that she was wearing her glasses; she didn't often wear them around him. She looked cute. "Still pumped up and humming?"

Jim took her hand and placed it over his heart. "Like you have no idea." Surely she could feel it pounding. "Glasses Pam?"

"I lost a contact lens in the shower." She said hastily. "I've got to go back to the kitchen real quick, go make yourself comfy."

Jim hung up his jacket and leaned in the doorway of the kitchen. He was too wired to sit down; he'd been squirming in the car the whole ride over. He wanted to see Pam. "Smells good in here, what's cooking?"

"Just a chicken casserole, there's more than enough for two if you want to stay, I'm gonna freeze some for healthy fast-food." She stirred the amazing smelling food with a wooden spoon before placing it back in the oven. Jim laughed when her glasses fogged up and she could only smirk in defiantly response.

"That sounds good, I'm starving."

"Won't be ready for another half hour. How was your day?"

He dragged her out of the kitchen for a kiss that he'd needed all day. She almost tripped over her own feet but he scooped her up into his arms and to his lips. He wasn't going to say another word until he'd gotten all the kisses he'd missed stealing throughout the day. Including one on the end of her nose.

"Uh... what was I saying?" She sighed happily.

"Couch." He demanded, sitting down and pulling her onto his lap. He had her laid so her back was up against his arm and the armrest and her legs curled up on a cushion. "I set up another job interview but please... don't laugh."

"Oooh, it's gotta be good."

"It's sales again."

"What would you be selling?"

"Cars. Used cars." He cringed.

"And how... is that better than paper?" She mused, putting her finger to the bottom of her chin in 'I'm thinking' pose that made Jim beam at her. She looked unbearably cute like that and  
the glasses made it perfect.

"Ugh, I don't know, I'll be outside and the commissions should be better. It's the option on Saturday that swings it. Nick knew a guy who knew a guy."

"Just don't go from one miserable job to another."

"I wasn't _miserable_." He made sure to emphasise the last word.

"You weren't happy. I was pretty much your sole reason for staying, wasn't I?"

Jim wondered how long she'd wanted to ask that question, she looked pained.

"Sometimes." He was just a little short of honest but he'd only really been thinking about it on the drive over. "The money was ok, always met my commission cap, even last year when  
Dwight stole one my biggest clients."

"He did?" Pam's jaw dropped and she looked furious.

"Yeah but I'm over it. As long as I'm heading in the right direction I don't really care what I do for money, it's about getting my qualification and if that means waiting tables or selling used  
Corollas, I'll do it. I've got to keep some time free for the homework sessions because I want to keep doing that when term starts. Oh and I need to brush up on some other subjects, I can't just do English and math, I've got to try some science and history too. I'm ok on both of those, I suck at chemistry but I can work on that."

"I'm no help; I know that helium is the lightest element."

"Hydrogen."

"Sorry?"

"The lightest element is hydrogen." He hated correcting her; he didn't want to be an obnoxious know-it-all.

"Damn. See? No help."

"I only know that because Mark's got a mug with the periodic table on it."

"Cool."

"Nerd central more like, but then I have a Freakangels travel mug. Mark bought it for me a birthday ago."

"Freakangels?"

"Oh, um, it's a Warren Ellis graphic novel. It updates for free every Friday online but it's published too. He's one of my favourite graphic novel authors and Paul Duffield's artwork is just  
brilliant, you should check it out just for the aesthetic and how he uses photo textures, they did a demonstration one week on how they colour everything. The storyline is brilliant too and all the characters are so well rounded and you can tell each of their histories has been thought out because each is so uniquely complex. There's this real sense that they are still immature, screwed up kids who were both blessed and cursed with abundant power that they couldn't even begin to fathom. And of course, they end the world, what...?"

Pam was grinning inanely and running her fingers through his hair so lightly it tickled.

"I love you, that's all." She smiled airily.

"Ok, yeah, I'm going on, I know, but it's awesome stuff. You should check it out, got a purple-ish bleached out feel, you'd like that kind of stuff."

"I will, never really looked at the art work in comics."

"Not comics, graphic novels, it's not Garfield."

"Aren't they just a gore fest?"

"Not everything out there is Frank Miller."

"Who?"

"Sin City?" He said as way of a reminder.

"Oh, eww, yeah, saw that." She shuddered.

"Not a fan?"

"It's not that, just the one scene with the girl and the hand. Or where her hand used to be."

"Oh, yeah, I remember, not exactly Toy Story. Hey, um, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"You were right, I stayed for you."

"Umm, that's not a question but ok." Pam looked away and bit her lip hard. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey." He turned her head back to face him. "I'm not blaming you for anything, not even the tiniest little bit. I think it was more about using you as an excuse, a distraction so I had a  
reason not to disappoint my parents. The thing is, I think I'm only just starting to realise how much that... dampened down who I am. I didn't see what was happening to me."

"I get what you mean, I didn't realise how much I'd dampened down with Roy but it's just... something Isobel said, you know that fight we had the day I moved in?"

"Yeah."

"One of the things she said was that you probably only stayed in that job for me and what was an English graduate doing in a crappy job that was beneath him if it wasn't for me. She said  
I did the same. That I was staying for you. I'm paraphrasing but I thought about it a lot. I thought maybe if I hadn't led you on you would have left and you'd be a teacher already."

"That's just crazy." He brushed the hair that had fallen over her face away. She'd gotten into the habit of taking out her barrette when she got home. "I knew what I was getting myself into when I met you I just don't think I realised I had an underlying motivation. I was in a crappy job but it's more about me and that I was... letting myself get walked over. Or being too afraid to live my own life."

"You think that?"

"A little, I think that maybe it was easier to just to as I was told than risk making a huge mistake and proving everyone right. That and I really, really didn't want to move back home after college."

"Have you thought about what you're going to tell your parents?"

"Thought I might see them when I got accepted somewhere."

"That might not be for another month, won't they find out before then?"

"Yeah... which means I've gotta ask you something."

Pam put her hand over his eyes. "You're abusing your powers, Halpert. I will not tolerate those eyes on my couch!"

He surged up and kissed her but she didn't move her hand. "I know." He said, still blinded. He moved her hand away. "If my mom calls the office, can you put her through to my cell?"

"She's gonna find out through someone, she knows everyone and I can't outright lie to your mom, she'll hate me. Can't you just tell her to only use your cell, tell her that they're monitoring calls now and you can't make personal ones?"

"So much for not lying, Beesly?" He chided with a grin. "Good plan."

"I said _I_ won't lie, _you_ already are. By omission of course."

"It's for a good cause. I know this is right for me, I can feel it. I had no idea how much life Dunder Mifflin had sucked out of me. And by that I don't mean you! Sorry, you're wonderful and I love you."

"I know, don't worry, I get what you mean." She petted his head sweetly.

"I've even been thinking more, it's weird, like I've woken up my brain and it's not just to work out how many packets of chocolate covered Brazil nuts it would take to fill Dwight's desk."

"How many?"

"Thirty three, too expensive."

"I am so very proud of you."

"Because I can work out stuff like that?"

"For realising some difficult stuff, for making the harder choice when you could have just stayed and ended up in corporate." Jim half smiled, he had some way to go yet before Pam could be proud. "Maybe you'll have gotten Jan's job and started chain smoking."

"I think I'd resort to crack."

Pam laughed and kissed him again, sinking into his lap and the kiss simultaneously. "I miss making out with you in the stairwell." She stroked his face. "You shaved, where's my after work stubbliness?"

"I wanted to look presentable. I'm keeping different hours now."

"Have you thought about calling your old English teacher?"

"That might be a bit difficult; he... died... in my last year of college." Jim thought back to his conversation with Pam about when his mom thought he was depressed. That was the second time. He didn't take it well, he didn't realise anything was wrong until his weekly email from him didn't arrive. By then he'd already gone.

"Oh... oh I didn't know. I'm so sorry, honey."

"I forgot I didn't tell you, I meant to but I think we got sidetracked. It was quite sudden, viral meningitis."

"He'd be so happy for you."

"He would, he'd never had let me take that job at Dunder Mifflin either but I think that's gonna work in my favour, having that real world experience. Stay in school kids or be doomed to  
work in a second rate paper company for the world's neediest boss."

"That would make me do my homework. Should have paid more attention in school."

"You won't be there forever either, you could quit tomorrow, you've got your rail switching options. Who knows what your destiny could be."

"But I'm happy for now." A buzzer rang from the kitchen. "Mmm, food!"

Pam sprung out of his lap and to the kitchen. Jim laid back and thought that for a jobless bum, he was doing good.

* * *

**Another flashback included for you but it saves stringing stuff out, you get Jim and Pam cuddled up and Mark on Haribo (seriously, I get hyper on that stuff, like I'm six again). I will** **never get bored of writing Mark.**

**Also, Freakangels is a real webcomic by Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield. I highly recommend you take a look but it's a mature webcomic so only peek if you're old enough. Google is your friend. **

**Hope you enjoyed the update and I'll see you next Monday. Oh, Thrown Away (My Office/CSI crossover) updated yesterday for those of you following that story too.**


	52. Chapter 52

**Firstly, apologies for missing last week's update, I had a virus on my laptop (practice safe twitter people, don't click on random links from random people like a complete noob) and I've next to no time to sit down and write. Thank you for all the lovely reviews and the super special people who've waded through the whole thing from the beginning, you're amazing! I won't leave this hanging, but I on ly wan t you to get good stuff too. Thrown Away should get updated tomorrow or Wednesday. **

**So Monday... here!**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Two: The Night before the Fourth of July**

The familiar door to Jim and Marks opened again. It was a pleasantly balmy night after a breezy summer's day. Pam had time to go home and change before a night of food and fun with the boys. She needed to soak the ice cream sundae out of her skirt anyway. Apparently Michael though that the third of July should be celebrated with an ice cream party as 'his family was abandoning him' for the Fourth of July. Kelly had given Phyllis, Meredith and herself impromptu lessons on how to eat ice cream seductively which and been much messier than she'd expected.

She couldn't help but think that Jim would have loved today. It had been fun but it could have been so much more with him there. It had been fun fending off comments from Angela about putting on weight and Dwight educating her on the risk of type-two diabetes if she chose the butterscotch topping over the banana chips. She chose the butterscotch. But it would have been so much more with him there.

"Hey Pam, come in, Jim's gonna be late, some people came back to look at an SUV and he thinks it could be a sale." Mark informed her as he showed her inside. He was wearing some particularly garish surfer shorts and a t-shirt advertising 'Quint's Fishing' which Pam got as a Jaws reference.

"Nice tee, Brody." She grinned when he nodded in appreciation that she'd gotten the reference but Jim had bought for him after losing a challenge involving Jim's boredom threshold. It wasn't great, she knew that from experience. "Here." She handed over a bottle of wine and a bag of six fancy bottles of beer from Europe. "Guess you get first pick."

"Ooh, think I'll go Austrian." He wiggled his fingers in the air in delight. Mark took her denim jacket and showed her through to the living room. Pam took her usual spot on the couch when it was the three of them. "Hey, um, you heard from Isobel?"

"Uh, no... should I?" Pam's insides clenched a little which was unpleasant considering her diet of ice cream and syrup for the last six hours. She and Mark had never really discussed what had happened after the Kiwi Problem and she wasn't eager to either. The room felt a little smaller than normal and she really wished Jim was here for the fiftieth time of the day.

"I bumped into her today." He ruffled his longer than usual curls anxiously but settled down, hiding it well. "Her dad's in town for Thanksgiving and they were having an argument outside the bookies. He went inside anyway and she was quite rightly upset."

Oh no. Poor Isobel. She said there was a chance her dad was going to visit for the holiday but she only ever knew at the last moment. Her dad had a habit of becoming very short on money at the last moment. He'd let her down yet again.

"Did you talk to her?" She asked cautiously, not knowing where she stood but sensing Mark wanted to talk about it with someone who knew Isobel.

"Yeah, I mean, I couldn't leave her like that. I couldn't talk long as I was meeting Sarah for coffee and that went... well, I'll get to that later." He half laughed like that was another story to tell.

She racked her brain for a moment. Sarah was the woman from the boxing club Mark had sort of been seeing casually. Pam hadn't heard much back from Jim but they'd been out a handful of times now and it appeared to be going well.

"So, how'd it go with Isobel?"

"I calmed her down a bit. We'd talked about her dad before so I kinda knew the dynamic. I told her that the battle was lost, he knew what he was doing and how much he hurt her and he did it anyway. I told her to go buy her mom some flowers or something, do something positive for the people in her life she cared for. I sugar coated it a little but that was the gist of it, we were talking for about ten minutes. She doesn't usually take orders, I expected her to march in there and drag him out but she said thanks and left."

"Wow, she listened and you were so nice. You didn't have to do that."

"I know but I think that maybe we could be friends, in time, when she's ready. If she's ever ready."

"Do you still like her?"

"I think," he paused, "I think I'm ready to move on."

Pam knew he'd caught her look of disappointment but she wasn't going to convince him to give her another chance. It wasn't her place. She still itched to get involved; they were doing so well before the whole Kiwi incident but she'd stay out of their business.

"Maybe with this Sarah? What's she like?"

"Ho-boy, yeah, she's great... she's in web development, a fitness fanatic, she's doing the New York Marathon, divorced... mother of one." He rubbed his hands nervously on his knees. She was getting a peek at all his nervous habits today and she wasn't surprised after his particular day.

"Single mom?"

"Yup. She told me today. Not sure what to make of it. I've never dated a single mom before and I probably wouldn't have gone out with her if I'd known beforehand but now I have I don't know if I want to stop seeing her. She's really nice, I like her."

"Ok, well how old is the kid?"

"Seven, a girl. Samantha." He sat forward and spoke efficiently, like they could solve this puzzle once they'd established all the facts. Pam was up for the challenge.

"How old is she?"

"Twenty-six. Six months older than me and like twenty years more mature."

"She's had to be." Being a mother would have given her little choice. "The father?"

"Involved but remarried."

"Why'd they divorce?"

"Married young, grew apart, better friends than husband and wife. Should I be worried about him?"

"No, nothing's raising any flags for me." Pam's phone vibrated. "Probably Jim."

_Can you tell Mark my mom loved the flowers and chocolates so much she cried. Issyx_

She hesitated but decided to share Isobel's text with Mark. "Um, Issy's mom loved the flowers and chocolates."

"Oh. Good." Pam saw the smile laced with doubt. "Glad to have been of service."

"Apparently she cried."

"Not surprised. My mom would be super stressed out in that position, she'd need a treat. They're the ones who've been there the whole time, you know. You can't change people."

"But people can change themselves. If they want to." She wondered if that reference to Isobel's counselling was a little too subtle or too obvious so she chastised herself regardless. She wouldn't push.

"Yeah... I guess."

The front door slammed and hollering came from the hallway. "Who just sold a twenty thousand dollar SUV? Oh yes! I did! That's who did, baby!" Jim held his arms triumphant as he walked into the room.

"Who's deodorant gave up like two hours ago? Oh yes! That's you, baby!" Mark jeered back. Pam however stood and gave him a congratulations kiss. Wow, he reeked!

"Nice work, Hillary Stink'em. More money to get you through student poverty."

"At this rate I'll be getting the Saturday shift and I'll have all week free to focus on passing top of my class and volunteering. It'll look great on my teaching application." He carried on talking without pausing. "Man, I'm starving but I'm gonna take a shower, you gonna be ok with Mark?"

"She's gonna paint my nails and do my hair. Of course she'll be 'ok with me', Jesus." He snarked, finger quotes included.

"Ok, ok, don't get huffy!" Jim grinned and bounded up the stairs three at a time.

"God, who thought he'd be that obnoxious of a car salesman?" Mark sighed.

"Maybe they make them sign something?"

"So, um, what do you think I should do about the whole Sarah thing?"

"Do you want to wait for Jim to get back?"

"I want your take on it first. Female perspective 'n' all."

"Well ok... do you like her?"

"Yeah, but it's still really early. She says she wouldn't want me to meet Samantha until we were much more serious but she usually told guys at this point because they knew her more as a person but weren't invested enough so they could bail if they got scared of the kid... thing."

"Does it scare you?"

"Yeah but then relationships as a whole scare me. My mom never really dated after my dad left. At least if she did I didn't know about it. It's just a responsibility, its two people you're eventually going to be in a relationship with, two sets of feelings to deal with and I'm far from perfect, if I fuck up, I could end up scarring some kid for life. Even if it's not on the table right now, if I date Sarah then it's coming."

"The fact that you understand there's two people involved means you're already better than a ton of men who've dated single moms."

"It's scary. I think Sarah thought I'd run off, literally, we were having coffee outside and she moved her bag out of the way."

"Do you think it might be worth it?"

"I don't know, everything is still so new, I don't want to make a promise I can't keep."

"I guess that's why she waits before introducing anyone to her daughter. For the moment, you're just testing out Mark and Sarah before trying out Mark, Sarah and Samantha. She's not gonna make you meet her until you're both ready, that might be six months down the line."

"Yeah, I guess that gives us more time to see how things might work. This is really weird, never had to think about my step-dad potential before, even theoretically. Not that I'd be a step-dad, she's got a real dad, but it's a big deal being the boyfriend to someone's mom." They could both hear door slamming upstairs as Jim noisily got himself dressed. "The man is an elephant."

"He's been so excited since he started volunteering. You hear about the prompt club they've started online?"

"Jim's been telling me about every time there's a new post, him and Jamie are in some sort of prompt war and trying to write the most insane stuff." Mark chuckled fondly. "I've still got all the stories he wrote me to see me through groundings and appendicitis in a folder upstairs, he's got form for insanity. Good to see him like this again all fired up."

"Again?"

"Well, yeah, when he came back from college and got a job he didn't seem to write like he used to or talk about it. It became taboo to talk about. I tried, but never got anywhere. Not if you don't count getting your head bitten off, chewed up and spat out again."

"Oh..."

"Sorry, shouldn't have said anything. You should talk to Jim about it though."

"Talk to me about what?"

"Your writing prowess. Gonna check your prompt doodad?" Pam covered; it was a conversation for when they were alone. "Mark and I have a score to settle on Burnout. What are we, 15-14 to you, right?"

"Yep. I'm the master." He leaned back with his arms behind his head.

"One game does not a master make."

"Let's do a crash tournament or something." Jim suggested.

"Sounds good to me. I'm feeling destructive." Cheered Pam.

...*...

Jim was having an amazing day. He'd been working on the forecourt intermittently when they needed extra hands for the past couple of weeks and today he had his chance to prove himself on what was typically a big sales day. He'd nailed it. Every cent in his pocket would make it easier to achieve his dream. It wasn't just a case of meeting each bill and paying the rent, it was for a greater goal now.

He'd been going whenever he could to the homework sessions. He had six regulars now, including Jamie, and could happily help out with others. It was the extra work that had him invested too, he'd convinced Jamie to give up smoking pot so he could think clearer for his writing and had managed to get help for another young girl with a self harm problem. Teaching would be so much more than just the educational aspect. He understood now why Mr Wilks took such an interest in his kids; you had to look out for their well-being too. He wanted to be a more holistic teacher like Mr Wilks.

Pam had the first go at crashing her car and causing as much carnage as she could. She curled up on the couch beside him, her face a picture of concentration. She'd been tense recently because work was driving her crazy but she always managed to unwind. Mark had just returned from the kitchen where he'd switched on the oven for his home-cooked lasagne and sat the other side of Jim. It was just how Jim had pictured a future with Pam.

"Ooh, nice work Pam." Admired Mark. It was easy to be impressed at the multiple buses and articulated lorries spread over several lanes of highway. She was setting the bar high.

"I know, this is why I frighten Jim when I drive." She beamed.

"So how'd your date with Sarah go?"

"Interesting. Enlightening. Educational."

"Obtuse. Cryptic. Elusive." Jim retorted.

Mark sighed and glared at him little. "Fine. She's got a kid. Samantha, she's seven."

He wasn't expecting that response and his eye brows rose accordingly. "Right. And..."

"I'm still thinking it over. I'm not expected to meet her or be her instant dad or anything, her father is still involved. I've just been given the heads up that if it got serious then there's a daughter in the bargain too." He finished casually. Jim had a quick glance at Pam who was enjoying the replay of her destruction, she must already know.

"Ok, what are you thinking right now?" Jim didn't want to bluster in with his opinion too early. Single mom relationships were complicated to say the least but totally worth it for the right person.

"I'm thinking that it probably wouldn't hurt to see her a bit more, I don't really know where it's going and I'm taking things slow, a few movies and some Indian food wouldn't kill us. Maybe that'll give me some time to wrap my head around the whole thing and see if I'm really up for this."

"You could totally manage the kid thing if you wanted to get that far. You're responsible and you're fun, you don't have to be a dad if she's got one. You'd be good."

"Being a boyfriend to a mother is so much scarier than what you're saying though. It's not that simple."

"See how things go."

"I've dated worse prospects and she is really nice and we have a great time together but it's still really early." Jim knew he hadn't really let his guard down yet which was understandable, he'd rushed things with Isobel and she'd treated his openness with contempt. Jim was still seething a little inside but kept it smothered for Mark's sake.

"Maybe we could meet her?"

"We're not there yet, nowhere close. We haven't even discussed exclusively dating; I guess that's the next thing. It's a lot, I don't... maybe it's too complicated."

"Don't over-think it man, I'd have dated Pam even if she had a daughter in tow."

"Even if I had six kids and cankles." Quipped Pam.

"Yeah, but you'd have dated Pam if she..." Jim's eyes went wide. "...had a second head."

"Nice save." Said Pam knowingly as she passed the controller to Jim. "I'll leave the actual end of the sentence to remain a mystery."

Jim figured the end of the sentence was 'with a husband in tow' but he wasn't sure how Pam would have felt about that. Thank goodness he'd cut Mark off.

"I bumped into Isobel today too." Mark said abruptly.

Jim tried to get his car to hit a ramp at the right angle but that sudden declaration threw him off.

"Yeah? So what she want?" He said bitterly, forgetting that one of her closest friends sat next to him.

"Don't get your heckles up already, _I_ approached _her_. She was upset. I was telling Pam that I like to be friends with her one day."

"Why?" He snorted. He kept his eyes on the screen without bothering to turn to Mark.

"Because it would be nice if we could all hang out without it being weird or one of us being left out. You and Pam, Penny and Dan, Isobel and whoever, me and whoever, Ollie, Nick and Sandra. Everyone." He shrugged. "It be nice to have parties and stuff where everyone can be together."

"You're too soft man."

"She's not evil, just messed up, I get that, just because I don't want to be involved doesn't mean I can't like her as a friend, we really got on."

"What if she gets her hooks into you again, she'll just break your heart, people like that aren't to be trusted." Jim had finished his go and passed the controller to Mark. He felt the couch shift behind and turned in time to see Pam flee from the room. "Oh, Pam, I didn't..." The front door slammed and Jim got up to chase her. He hadn't been thinking, he'd just said what he needed to protect Mark; he was too soft when it came to women.

"Pam!"

She'd gotten to her car and was fumbling with her keys. He reached out for her hands to stop her but she jerked them away.

"People like her?" She snarled. "She's been through a lot, everyone makes mistakes! You don't get to talk about my friends like that!"

"I know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, I just don't want Mark to get back with her." There was more than a truck-load of desperation in his tone.

"Because people can't make up for their mistakes? She's trying to make things better for herself; she's seeing a therapist, Isobel of all people!" She yelled. Jim had never seen her this mad at him. She'd never seen her this mad at all.

Were they going to break up over this? He was panicking inside; he didn't know what to do. It had happened so quickly.

"Of course she can, therapy is great, I'm happy for her." He soothed but it was too little effect.

"But you wouldn't let her near Mark?"

"...uh... not right now." He wouldn't lie. Honesty was something he never wanted to let go, it was too important because right now he'd say anything to stop Pam being mad at him.

"I've made mistakes too, I kissed you while I was engaged, that was so much worse that what Isobel did but you forgave me, you didn't even see it as an issue!" She raged, her eyes a little glassy but she was holding on to the anger. "I don't get why you hate her so much and not me!" She jammed her keys in the lock of her car and opened the door.

"I could never hate you, I love you so very much. I thought we were over that whole Dundies thing. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I should have thought it over, I'm being a huge hypocrite, please don't go." He hung on her arm and wouldn't let her in the car. "Stay, we're ok, right?

"I just, I need to think, it's been a long day and you're not..." She tailed off. Jim couldn't work out the end of the sentence from her expression.

"What about tomorrow?"

"Lemme think about it."

Oh god, his stomach sank to his bare feet. "Please, I'm sorry I was insensitive but you understand where I was coming from, right? It was a knee jerk thing, just stupid words. I love you; I  
don't want you to be mad at me." The words 'you're over reacting' almost slipped out but he caught them just in time.

"I don't want to be mad either, but I am."

"We should go inside, talk some more. I don't really have to worry about Mark, he likes this Sarah."

"That's not really the point; Isobel isn't the horrible person you seem to think she is. You hang out with her plenty when she and Mark were together but now you talk about her like she's  
some heartless bitch. She's got a heart, Jim."

"I know she has. I guess I haven't forgiven her yet."

When Jim saw Pam's face he knew instantly he'd said the wrong thing.

"I'm going for a drive; I'll call you later, ok?" She said calmly. Too calmly.

"Y-y-you sure?"

Pam's face creased up a little with pity and maybe a little resentment. She'd caught the bad stutter.

"Yeah. I just need to think."

Jim nodded, he didn't trust himself to speak again.

He watched as she got in the car and pulled away and drove down the street. He knew he could catch up to her on foot if he wanted to because she wouldn't have gotten far before she  
was crying too much to drive. Jim didn't follow.


	53. Chapter 53

**Monday's update a little delayed due to site issues but it's here now!**

**Next Monday there probably won't be an update as I have family coming (so excited!) and lots of stuff going on for the next week or two which cuts in to my writing time. So last week Jim and Pam had their first proper fight and Pam left Jim standing in the driveway.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Three: Third of July Continued**

How dare he! "How dare you, Jim Halpert!" She shouted at her unresponsive steering wheel. She hadn't gotten far before her anger had given way to tears. She'd left. She almost could believe she walked away but she did. She left him standing there when he'd wanting nothing more than to stay and talk.

She fumbled for her phone. Penny was spending the whole day with Danny for their six month anniversary, Isobel was with her mom and not the right person to be discussing this with and Kelly... was Kelly. She called probably worst person to call considering Jim would be meeting her for the first time tomorrow. She called her mom.

"Mom." Her voice betrayed her and cracked miserably down the phone. She could have kicked herself but there was no helping her tears.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Said the kindly voice, calm and maternal. She could just picture her mom dropping everything to focus on her needs just like she always did.

"We had a fight." She choked out.

"Oh sweetie, I'm sure it's just the pressure of tomorrow, you want to tell me what happened?" She soothed, she never panicked, that always made Pam feel better.

"He was mean about Isobel."

"Why would he do that? I thought he got on with everyone."

"He's still upset about... well, Isobel did something stupid, she met up with Jonah-"

"That little toad, ugh."

"Yes, and well Mark saw her with him when she'd told him she was working late and he kissed her."

"Oh, well I could understand why Jim's still sore; he's ever so protective of Mark, isn't he? I mean from what you told me about them being like brothers and all. His actual brothers aren't that good to him, are they?"

Pam tried to explain more, it wasn't as simple as Jim being protective. "No, but he was still out of line, he said that people like her aren't to be trusted and he was all disgusted when Mark was talking about being friends with her one day. Isobel's dealing with it; she's seeing a proper therapist even though it's costing her a ton of money and her dad's in town."

"Gosh, that girl doesn't have much luck when it comes to the men in her life."

"Mark was good for her, it's... a shame." She didn't know what else to say other than what a shame it was. He would have helped her deal with her dad turning up but in some way, he did. It was fate surely that he'd shown up, maybe they will get back together one day. They'd have beautiful kids.

"Honey, I still don't understand why you're so upset. I could understand you telling him to watch his lip when talking about her and pointing out she's trying to become a better person. Did he not say sorry?"

"He said sorry loads; I think he just didn't want me to leave. He was really upset. He might as well have just said it was my fault."

"He doesn't believe that, honey. You had nothing to do with Isobel's mistake."

"Yeah, well you don't know what kind of person I am." She half mumbled under her breath.

"What are you talking about?" She'd snapped to attention. "You're making me worried, should I be coming to see you? I can leave right now, where are you?"

"Mom, I'm fine, it's just...I kissed Jim while I was still with Roy. I did what Isobel did but he's still mad at Issy. I'm worse." Pam prepared herself for her mom to be disappointed, maybe even scold her for what she'd done and yell a little.

"Love isn't rational."

"You're not going to shout at me for basically cheating on Roy? He was practically your son for nine years!" Pam couldn't understand why no one, bar Isobel, was mad at her. She felt better when Isobel was shouting because at least then she was being punished.

"You and Roy had a lot of problems I didn't see until we talked about it. I wish I hadn't been so blind, maybe I could have saved you from a lot of hurt."

Pam was quiet for a moment. She wasn't quite sure what to say next so she took in her surroundings and tried to collect herself. She was in a quiet residential street; some kids were walking a dog. It was peaceful. She really didn't want to cry anymore than she was already.

"This isn't really about Isobel is it sweetie?"

Pam thought that was a strange thing to say. "Of course it is. He shouldn't bad mouth my friends. I know he's not perfect, no one is."

"That's very true and I'm sure Jim would understand that if you sit down calmly and talk it through."

"Mom, he was a complete ass."

"Are you sure you're not over reacting?"

"You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I'm supposed to be looking out for the best interests of my daughter."

"Well you're not doing a very good job!"

"Because I want my daughter to stay in a wonderful, loving relationship with the man of her dreams? Yes dear, I'm a terrible mother."

"Don't be like that, it's been a hell of a day, I miss having Jim around at work..."

Pam paused. No one was supposed to know yet. How could she fix this without lying? Oh god, think, think, think...

"Honey... is Jim not at work?"

She slumped her head on the steering wheel defeated by her own stupidity and loose tongue. "You can't say anything ok, he needs to tell his parents first and he's still working stuff out. Please, please don't tell him I told you."

"Everyone makes mistakes, sweetie." Pam registered the pointed way she spoke.

"He quit. He's going back to college to get his teaching certificate. He's selling used cars and working with the group that Danny teaches boxing with, he's teaching English. Well, he's going to be teaching it officially, it'll take a year or so."

"My goodness Pam, that's wonderful news! How brave of him!"

"I know, I'm so proud, I just didn't think I'd find it so hard. I miss him at work, he's got all this excitement and... what if I'm too boring for him, what if he meets some other student or teacher? What if I'm not enough and he finds someone more like him?" Pam was feeling like she was hyperventilating and she was starting to cry again.

"Calm sweetie, calm, take some breaths. You've not told anyone that you've had all these worries, have you?"

"No." She choked out, hoping the kids teaching the dog to stand on his hind legs wouldn't notice.

"You've just been a little kettle waiting to boil up. Oh honey, I wish I was there because I would be giving you such a hug, you're so silly."

"Mom." She cried, breaking down that last little bit she needed.

"I know, I know, you really need to talk to Jim about this, all these bottled up feelings aren't good for you. I've been around long enough to have worked that one out."

"I don't want him to feel bad for following his dream."

"Honey, how long has this boy been in love with you?"

"A while... I guess." Years, probably.

"_You're_ his dream sweetie, he's just piecing together the other parts to make everything complete."

That somehow made sense and the cold shadow inside her that had been growing for weeks shrank back on itself like an imploding star. She believed her mom. "I feel stupid."

"Everyone gets an attack of the stupids every now and then. You gonna tell him why you got so upset?"

"How can I? I can't tell him I miss him, god, it's so clingy and he doesn't miss me. He's happy making money and volunteering, he's even driven to some colleges and checked out their  
facilities. And he _was_ an ass about Issy."

"And I'm sure he knows that. You have to let this out or you're going to end up exploding at his next little slip up when it could all be cleared up in one simple conversation. It's been the end of the most stable relationships, you've got to communicate."

"I didn't even know I was upset about him not working there. It just started getting to me. The days were getting really long. They hired Ryan so I keep looking up and I see Ryan. And Kelly. But it's not right mom, I have to prank Dwight on my own, it takes some adjusting to, I don't want to be a baby about it. I miss seeing him."

"Yes, I'd miss the view too."

"Mom!" Oh dear god, Pam blushed.

"Listen, you're not a baby, you're very much in love, I'm quite jealous actually."

"Come on, mom, you've got dad."

"It's not quite the same honey-pie."

"I should go back, shouldn't I?"

"You should. Tell him everything on your mind and then get yourself some make-up sex!"

"Mom! God!"

"What! I know the way of the world my lovely girl."

"You're so not like Betsy. Don't scare him, will you? I don't think he could handle it."

"I won't sweetie, I can't wait to properly meet him, it's going to be a lovely day. I've got everyone briefed to go easy on him; a lot of them are meeting Danny for the first time too. I'm so lucky that my girls have good taste in men."

"Do you think anyone will miss Roy?"

"Maybe some of them, but they'll be happy to see you happy and they'll love Jim, I'm sure."

"I better head back, sorry to call you all tearful."

"That's exactly when I want you to call me sweetie, I'm here any time anywhere. You got that?"

"Yes, mom."

"Now go before I have to drive you myself, you know I will."

"I'm going, I'm going."

Pam steadied herself and waited a few more minutes for the redness around her eyes to subside. Was she really that upset she didn't see Jim eight hours a day? Surely that would be enough to break most couples, being in each other's company that long but for them it had always been so easy. Now the days were long and hard. Tedious. Monotonous.

She could adjust, she told herself, sitting up a little straighter and jutting out her chin to her inner monologue. She'd taken control of her life thus far; she could get her head around this change. It wasn't like Jim had abandoned her, though maybe she felt a little... left behind. She'd get through this. First things first, she had to talk to Jim, running away hadn't solved anything and she didn't want to leave him thinking that things were over. She loved him too much.

...*...

"Are you going to spend the rest of the night staring out of the window?"

"Yes."

"Clutching your phone?"

"Yes."

"It's been half an hour."

"Yes."

"Food's ready."

"Not hungry."

"Jim, staring isn't going to make her come back."

"Yes it will."

Jim's nostrils were suddenly assaulted by the most amazing scent of lasagne. Mark was wafting the plate under his nose. He didn't stop staring outside. He needed her back, he couldn't move until he'd made this right again.

"It's got homemade sauce with balsamic vinegar. I roasted the vegetables too; I know you love roasted zucchini and red capsicums." He sang. Jim didn't really care about them right now. He barely cared about blinking and his eyes were sore. "Finest ground beef, mozzarella topping... ugh, come on I spent ages on it and I cooked enough for three so you better eat some of it before it gets cold."

"I should wait a little longer..."

"She'll call in her own time. Eat. Or I'll be insulted too."

"Not funny." Jim stared. The road remained empty.

"Fine, I'm eating." Mark stalked back to the kitchen. Jim stared out the window.

Another ten minutes passed.

"Jim, come on, seriously, eat something with me or at least come and talk to me. We can talk about this or something to take your mind off it. Whatever you like."

"I'll wait, thanks."

"I'm bored on my own."

"Eat in here."

"And ruin our new carpet?" Jim winced at the memory, both the good and the bad. "You can't magic her up out of thin air."

"Yes I can."

Jim saw her car. Mark looked a little put out by being proved wrong so blatantly.

"Coincidence."

"Told you." Jim dashed outside and met Pam before she'd even gotten out of the car. "You're back, you ok? I'm so, so, sorry, come inside, we should talk, are you hungry, are y-you ok-"

"Jim, stop talking and breath. I'm coming inside. We're ok but we do need to talk. Ok?"

Jim let out a sigh of relief. All he really heard was 'we're ok'. He helped her out of the car and into the house.

"Smells lovely." Pam remarked. Jim sensed she was trying to break some of the tension.

"Do you want to eat now?"

"Talk first, in your room?"

"Sure." Jim was edgy still but he'd take anything she'd throw at him just for them to stay together. It probably wasn't healthy but he didn't care, he needed Pam in his life for the rest of his  
life and he'd do anything to make sure that happens.

They got to his bedroom and climbed on the bed, Jim sat up against the headboard and Pam sat cross-legged facing him.

"So, um... I miss you."

Jim looked confused. "You miss me? Or you missed me, just now?"

"At work. I miss you and I don't want to miss you and I'm so glad you're following your dream but... it's hard working there without you. I haven't adjusted yet. I think it's been getting to me."

"Oh."

"I'm still mad about the Isobel thing but I know you're sorry it's just, I've been missing you and today we had an ice cream party and you missed it but then you're doing this new exciting thing and what if..." Pam stopped herself, she was talking so quickly. Jim knew work had been stressing her out but he didn't know it was because he wasn't there. He didn't know what to say to make things better. Luckily he didn't have to yet. "I'll be fine, I'll get use to it again, it's not a big deal, I just didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to feel guilty or to think I was clingy. I shouldn't feel this way, I'm stronger now but, god, I had no idea how much of a difference having you there made."

"Do you want to leave?"

"No, I'm happy; I just think I needed to acknowledge it. I won't stay there forever but I'm not ready yet, I need to do my classes and get myself to a level where I can move on to other things. High school art isn't enough."

Jim nodded, his head still spinning. "You know I love you, right?"

Pam smiled. "Of course, I love you too."

"I'd have gone crazy without you there either. What was the ice cream thing?"

"Michael made the Party Planning Committee throw an impromptu ice cream party to celebrate the Fourth of July because we weren't spending it together as a family."

Jim laughed. "God, I did miss a good day. I miss you too."

"You do?"

"Yeah all the time. I'd hide under your desk if we could get away with it. I could give you foot rubs all day."

"Don't think I'd get much work done."

"We never did anyway." He chanced a smile and got one in return. The knots in his stomach were slowly coming undone.

"There's another thing too."

Jim's stomach created a hundred new knots. Things were beginning to feel normal again.

"No, it's ok," she said quickly after registering the look on his face, "it's just an insecurity thing. I know it's stupid and irrational but I worry that you might meet someone more like you, that you'll change and won't-"

Jim cut her off with a kiss. She resisted at first but he kept her, one hand holding the back of her head and the other holding her hand. After a few seconds she gave in and let Jim show her his response, she let him take control and kiss her until he sensed that every thought and every doubt disappeared. "You." He whispered against her tingling lips. "Only you, no one else. Ever. Got that?"

Pam nodded whispered a noise that sounded like ok and let Jim kiss her again. Soon Pam found herself lying on her back with Jim still kissing her. No hands elsewhere, just kissing and it was exactly what they both needed. His lips, her lips, just them making everything right again.

"Was there anything else?" Jim asked, looking a little worried.

"What?"

"To talk about, anything else?"

"Just that I think we should talk more, even stuff that we think is difficult, I'm not good at that but I want to try. I let everything get to me."

"I'll do that too. I worry too, I worry that I've put us under pressure so early, that you'll feel neglected and I don't have the money to take you on weekends away and fancy dinners."

"We'll make time for each other, prioritise. What's important right now is that you get your teaching thingy and we'll work out everything from there."

"Teaching thingy?"

"Yeah, your teaching superpower licence."

"I like that."

"Me too." She smiled. This was over now. Worst forty minutes of his life. "Um, I'm kinda starving, you think Mark would mind if we ate?"

"I'm pretty sure he's gonna insist. He almost threw a Gordon Ramsey hissy fit when I refused to eat."

"God, I made such a scene in front of him."

"He's fine, he pretty much thinks I'm pathetic for spending the whole time at the window... and that's probably something I shouldn't have admitted to you..."

"That's ok, I spent it crying on the phone to my mom."

"You... told your mom?" Jim's mouth went horribly dry. She probably hated him. How could he face her now?

"Yeah but she's totally cool, she told me that I over reacted and that I needed to talk to you and solve this before it became a big problem. She's never seen me so happy, she wants us to be together and she's really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. Don't worry at all."

"That's good. Good. You can talk to your mom, I just freaked out for a second in case she was going to hit me tomorrow. We are still on for tomorrow right?"

"Yep, not getting off that easy!"

"I love you so much, I'm so sorry." Jim wondered if it truly had been forgotten.

"Last time you say that ok, this is behind us now." She raked a hand through his hair making it stand on end before smoothing it down again. "I guess that was our first fight as a couple."

"It was."

"I think we did ok."

"No broken plates."

"Or broken noses. We need to do the communication thing better."

"Yeah, guess I'm learning this whole serious relationship thing as I go along." Jim thought back, how many times had things gone unsaid between them?

"I think I am too, there wasn't a whole lot of communication going on with Roy. This will work though, I love you and this will work."

Jim kissed her again, for being someone fond of writing saying words out loud had always been trickier. He'd try though. He really would do anything for her.

* * *

**So everything is patched up but you can still see the problems. Namely the fact that Jim is in so deep he could easily find himself running into trouble because it's definitely borderline unhealthy and Pam realising that she's still dependant on the men who've been in her life. **

**Hope you liked the first appearance of Pam's mom, my mum was a big inspiration but I've made her very much her own character. **


End file.
